Water Pressure Question

[gprsh924]

Before I call a plumber I have to consult the brain trust.

I feel as though I’m experiencing a drop in water pressure across my house. It is not noticeable at any sinks/ faucets, but I notice it in the master shower head and basement shower head.

Flow is especially weak if two showers are in use together, or if the washing machine is running during a shower. Historically pressure has always been lower in those scenarios, but it feels more pronounced now. The shower heads are almost at a trickle if anything else is running.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by gprsh924

Before I call a plumber I have to consult the brain trust.

I feel as though I’m experiencing a drop in water pressure across my house. It is not noticeable at any sinks/ faucets, but I notice it in the master shower head and basement shower head.

Flow is especially weak if two showers are in use together, or if the washing machine is running during a shower. Historically pressure has always been lower in those scenarios, but it feels more pronounced now. The shower heads are almost at a trickle if anything else is running.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

What's your psi to the house? And do you have an adjustable water regulator from the city water to your house?

[flatbutt]

Are you on a well or city system? If on a well maybe head pressure needs to be topped up.

[Flat Six]

Looking in another direction, you might want to make sure your shower heads aren't clogged by scale/mineral deposits -- making a known issue worse than before. Easy check & fix, anyway.

[Evans, Marv]

Buy a water pressure gauge (they're cheap) and check your incoming pressure like Dale says. Next check if the shower heads are clogged with mineral deposits. Then check to see if you have a drop ih pressure at the shower heads (you can do these at the same time). You can check for a slow leak (in the plumbing) at some point by checking the pressure at faucets going away from where your water supply comes into the house. You will figure it out once you get started.

[BK911]

Originally Posted by Flat Six

Looking in another direction, you might want to make sure your shower heads aren't clogged by scale/mineral deposits -- making a known issue worse than before. Easy check & fix, anyway.

Im on a well.
Debris routinely clogs up the screens in fixtures.
Finally installed an inline filter at inlet
Clean it once in a while and all is well.

Second the water pressure gauge.
Pretty cheap for one the threads on hose bib.

[island911]

iron pipes?

[gprsh924]

House was built in 93, copper pipes. City water. No idea on PSI. I don’t think there is a water regulator, the only thing I see on the main line coming into the house is the meter.

[Arizona_928]

Look for something like this. In az they're right out front and in the open, but we don't have hard freezes.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by BK911

Im on a well.
Debris routinely clogs up the screens in fixtures.
Finally installed an inline filter at inlet
Clean it once in a while and all is well.

Second the water pressure gauge.
Pretty cheap for one the threads on hose bib.

This is the one that I got. It works well.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T9ZPJKZ/

Are your showers 2 knob or one knob showers?

Many modern one knob bath/shower faucets have an anti-scald valve built in, and when those go bad, the pressure often drops, so that's a possibility.

I think you can get an adapter to screw the pressure gauge onto the shower head pipe.

If the screens on your sinks occasionally clog, I assume the shower does too, and you've already checked/cleaned it.

[look 171]

Scale build up in your shower heads? Remove shower head, unscrews in about 15 sec. Open up and see if there's enough pressure. Oh, don't look up. Don't blast off o rings or gaskets. Check before turn on water. Simple test. check pressure in back of house at hose bib. It should read about 60-65 psi. If not adjust accordingly by loosing the lock not where the white tags is and adj the top screw accordingly.

[Bill Douglas]

Years ago I had a similar thing. The galvanised pipe from the toby (that's what we call the mains tap out on the footpath) had got rusty. I was surprised any water got through when I saw how rusty it was. I replaced it with 25 mm PVC - U pipe. It's been great ever since. Two showers running at the same time and taps used without screams from the bathroom.

If your pipes are OK and you have a pressure limiting valve (stops surges that may blow up your pipes) the filter in it may be blocked with mud and crud.

[look 171]

Do you have a tankless heater? On the inlet, there's a screen. If htat's clogged, you aint much water hot water through the shower head. I say its your aerators and filter screen at the shower heads getting clogged with crap.

[stevej37]

If cleaning the shower heads doesn't help....maybe remove the low flow water restrictor in the shower heads?

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

Look for something like this. In az they're right out front and in the open, but we don't have hard freezes.

This. Ours is in a ground level box where city water enters the house. To increase pressure, loosen lock nut and turn adjuster clockwise. Test water pressure at any spigot. Should be set at 60-70 psi. A gauge is about $15 at HD or Amazon.

[Rot 911]

Unscrew the showerhead. Turn on the shower faucet. Lots of water coming out? If so, either replace your showerhead or clean the screen on the old one. You can also soak the showerhead and vinegar to clean out the minerals.

[stevej37]

^^^ That.

Maybe once a year, I fill a zip-loc quart baggie with vinegar and raise it up and and over the showerhead. Pull the zip-loc tight and leave the head in the vinegar overnight.
The next morning take the bag down and it runs like new again.

[island911]

Originally Posted by gprsh924

...
Flow is especially weak if two showers are in use together, ...

Originally Posted by gprsh924

House was built in 93, copper pipes. City water. No idea on PSI. I don’t think there is a water regulator, the only thing I see on the main line coming into the house is the meter.

Sounds like delivery pressure has dropped.

Check with the provider - perhaps they dropped the pressure for some reason (there are plenty)
Check that the water meter valve is fully open.
Check the filter screen on the regulator valve. (turn the water off first)

This is a cutaway of the typical regulator.



The filter can be seen (barely) on the lower right of the cutaway.
Access is the cap below it. The Filter is designed to catch crap in the middle of that mesh cylinder so that it always can slide out for cleaning.

It's great that you have copper thru your house. But what goes to your house could be gritty.

[gprsh924]

Thanks for the ideas so far. The pressure gage should be here tomorrow and I should have some time to mess with all of this over the weekend.

I am definitely going to check the shower heads, though I am skeptical that it is just buildup. This morning I threw in some laundry and then started washing dishes. Flow/pressure in the kitchen sink was great at first, but anytime the washer would use water during its cycle, the flow in the kitchen went down dramatically. For as long as I have lived here there was always some drop in flow if the washer ran, but lately that drop is much more significant.

I need to get a baseline on my water pressure and go from there. I will update once I've checked.

[jyl]

I'm overdue to replace the pipe from street to meter. I have more of a flow issue than a pressure issue. Hopefully it isn't that for you.