low water pressure on the tapYour plumbing may have lost water pressure slowly over time, or quickly all at once, for a few different reasons. Most homeowners blame a drop in water pressure on their shower head, but don’t rush out and buy a new one just yet. There are a few other culprits that could be ruining your water pressure slowly, or suddenly.

If you want a more enjoyable shower, or to fill up a cooking pot a little faster, you’ll need your plumber to look into these potential problems.

Fix Clogs

We usually notice clogs when they occur in the drain lines. It’s obvious when this happens, as it can stop our bathtubs and sinks from draining quickly, or at all. However, clogs can happen in supply lines too. When they do, they can slow down the water, or stop it from getting to our fixtures at all.

If you suspect a clog in a supply line, you’ll need to call a plumber to investigate the pipe and to resolve the clog, if there is one.

Check On New Installations

If your or your plumber have recently installed a new appliance or fixture, and it’s the one with a pressure problem, chances are the new addition has pipes that are the wrong size, or some other problem that is reducing the overall water pressure.

A reputable plumber should be happy to return, check on the new installation and try to get to the bottom of your pressure problem if it turns out that the new installation isn’t the cause.

Upgrade Your Pipes

Older pipes may have calcium build-up that prevents them from running smoothly. Or, you may have older pipes, or smaller pipes, that are ill-suited to meet the water pressure demands of a modern home. Either way, a plumber can tell you if upgrading your pipes will improve your water flow.

Plumbers can also improve your home’s water pressure by making the whole system more efficient. They’ll get rid of unnecessary elbows, or turns, that slow down the water, and shorten plumbing pipe runs where they can. Making the plumbing system smarter can have a big impact on water pressure.

Change Your Fixtures

The last thing you should look into is changing your fixtures to get better water pressure. If your fixtures are old, they may have calcium build-up or other problems that ruin your water pressure. Or, if you installed low-flow fixtures, they may simply have poor water pressure.

You can get low-flow fixtures that both reduce your water usage and give you enough water pressure. Talk to your plumber to get recommendations on which fixtures can best balance your needs.

Or, be selective about where you install low-flow fixtures. Perhaps it’s important for you to have high pressure showers, but you can handle low pressure in bathtubs, the kitchen sink, and the utility sink. That way, you can do your part to conserve water, without sacrificing your shower experience.

Check Your Water Pressure

Not sure if your water pressure problems are bad enough to start switching fixtures or changing your plumbing system? Your plumber can measure your water pressure and let you know if it’s normal for your neighborhood.