How To Increase Water Pressure At Home

8:00 AM

How can I increase the water pressure at home?

Weak water pressure may not be a complete plumbing disaster, but it does lead to unsatisfying showers if nothing else.

It can also impact how well your dishwasher or washing machine works too.

If your home has low pressure, there are a few things you can do to improve the situation.

Technically, you can call professionals like the Plumbing Detectives, helpful plumbers in Mosman.

But feel free to try out some of these techniques first on how to increase water pressure at home first.

How to Increase Water Pressure at Home

1. Diagnose the problem: where is it low?

In order to fix the problem, you'll need to diagnose what's wrong first.

If there is only a pressure problem in one spot (like the shower), there's likely something going on with the plumbing in that area. If the whole house is low, you will have to take a different approach.

2. Clean up: certain low areas

For situations where you are getting low pressure in just one spot, you will want to examine the fixtures first.

The mineral build-up is a likely culprit, especially with a showerhead.

Soak taps or showerheads in vinegar to loosen the crud. Give them a good scrubbing with a stiff brush.

You can do the same thing for intake valves for washing machines or dishwashers, but it will take a little more work.

Increase Water Pressure at Home by cleaning the pipes

3. Replace

Not enough improvement?

You may have to replace the pipes between the main water source at the problem spot.

There may be further mineral build-up that you can't reach, or the pipe layout may make this difficult, and you may wish to call out professionals, like Metro Vancouver Plumbing, at this point to help do the job safely and efficiently.

If you really only want higher pressure for your showers, rather than worry about the plumbing, you can replace the fixture with one specifically designed to make good use of lower water pressure.

A "low-flow" showerhead can boost your flow for a more powerful shower.

Increase Water Pressure At Home by Replacing fixtures and pipes

4. Focus on the main water supply: Whole House Pressure

Chances are that it’s not the pipes when it affects the entire house.

It is possible that the diameter of the pipes is not sufficient which can happen in older houses.

Now you'll want to focus on the water mains that supply the water to your house in the first place.

Before going any further, double-check that the mains valve hasn't been knocked or otherwise partially closed.

If your water system has a pressure gauge, see what it says. You should be getting pressure between 40 and 50 psi.

Water coming into your home lower than that is obviously out of your control, and you should talk to your utility company.

Along with the gauge, you may also have a valve you can use to regulate the household pressure.

Try turning it up, even if the gauge is showing a reasonable flow rate. Don't overdo it though. Too much pressure is very harmful to your fixtures and plumbing.

Increase Water Pressure At Home by focusing on the main water supply

If you don't have a gauge at the source, you can buy your own at the hardware store, and use it to test the pressure at the outdoor spigot (that is usually the one part of the system with the least amount of fixtures or obstacles.

When you are really in a bind to boost water pressure in the entire home, you can install an additional booster pump that will improve pressure for the whole system.

For this, you'll want to talk to a professional plumber.

Have you tried to increase water pressure at home on your own? How did it go?

Lux G.

Lux is a social entrepreneur, and investor with a passion for romance novels and an uncanny knack for turning words into marketing magic at Internet Marketing Ad. She believes all things are possible through Christ.