How to Increase Water Pressure in Your Home

A trickle of water when you expected a high pressure jet of water is enough to drive you crazy while in a shower. Not only rinsing yourself in such dribbling water becomes difficult, but you also have to face several other problems due to low water pressure. If you are a homeowner who is plagued by the problem of low water pressure you sure would like to know about the ways to increase water pressure in your home. There are number of causes that may lead to low water pressure in your home. Be it a problem causing low water pressure in kitchen sink or in bathroom, most of these problems are so minor that you can fix them yourself. Thus, you do not need to summon a plumbing expert if you yourself know how to increase water pressure in your house.

Causes and Solutions to Increase Water Pressure

Valves
Low water pressure in homes may be due to incorrectly positioned valves. Valves are of two types, customer valve and home valves. If these valves are set at any position other than 'ON', you are likely to face low water pressure. Customer valve is located in your meter box, whereas home valve is on the front of your residence, where the water line enters your home. This is a wagon wheel shaped valve. To ensure nothing is stuck in this valve, turn it clockwise to partially shut it off. Then again turn it counterclockwise as far as it goes. This will open your valve completely and also get rid of any deposits in the valve.

Pressure Regulator
Pressure regulator is another thing to look at, whenever you have a water pressure problem. Pressure regulator is a bell shaped device with a screw at the end. This device can be found below the frontal connection or under the house, in the crawlspace. Adjusting the screw can solve most of your water pressure related problems. Tighten the screw in order to increase the pressure of water in your home. Usually, the regulator is preset at 45 - 60 psi by the manufacturer and rarely needs adjustment. Do not increase the pressure too much as you may run the risk of damaging your pipelines.

Leaky Pipeline
Any damage small or large, to the pipeline, may result in water leakage which eventually reduces the pressure. However, in the absence of a trained plumber it is difficult to detect a leaky pipeline. The best solution to this problem is monitoring your meter. Turn off all the water outlets in your home and monitor the reading of the meter. Keep the outlets in 'off' state for another two hours and take the meter reading again. If you notice an increase in the reading, it means you have a leakage somewhere in the pipeline for sure. However, you will have to summon a plumber to find the leaky pipe and get it replaced.

Peak Time
Water usage is at its peak during certain hours of the day. It is mostly very high in the morning when everybody is getting ready for work. Thus, chances are you might be having shower at the same time as number of other people in your neighborhood. This sudden demand causes the water to flow at a lower pressure. You may also notice a drop in water pressure in the evening while watering your lawn. Hence, if you wish to increase pressure for sprinklers and showers, a little rescheduling of your activities can help you overcome the problem.

Mineral Deposits
Mineral deposits often hinder the water pressure in old, galvanized iron pipes. Hot water and horizontal pipes accelerate the process of mineral deposition in the pipes. If you are particularly concerned about increasing water pressure in your shower, you may benefit by scrubbing the shower head and removing accumulated mineral deposits.

If you are unable to find a cause of low water pressure in your house, you should perhaps call a licensed plumber to detect the fault. Oftentimes, homeowners try to fix the problem on their own without bothering to check the cause. This may actually add to the original problem.

More often than not, your problem is likely to be due to one of the above mentioned causes. If not, do not hesitate to seek professional assistance.