What can I do my water pressure?

As with many of my blogs, the thought comes from problems that I see and help answer on the many discussion groups and forums that I read daily. Of late there have been many questions about water pressure or lack thereof and most folk’s immediate thought is that it’s a delivery problem, i.e. the water source is not pumping hard enough. I wrote a recent blog on this subject alone “How much pressure is too much pressure?” If you asked most people what they think their water pressure should be, most would answer “they don’t know” or something in excess of 100psi (pounds per square inch). In reality the pressure from the water main should not exceed 60psi and should never venture near the 100psi mark at any device in the house. High water pressure can cause early failure of pipe joints, valves and machines such as washers and dishwashers. Inversely low water pressure can make your life miserable from taking a shower to washing the dishes and cause faucets and toilets to not operate properly. Localized low pressure can be caused by clogs or trash in aerators at faucets and corrosion build up in pipes and devices and not from the supply source at all. Thus before you can decide what your problem is check and see of it is primarily at a single faucet in an individual area or is it the entire house. If it is localized you can probably fix it yourself. Remove the aerator from your slow running faucet and clear it of debris. If it’s a toilet check your fill mechanism to make sure the valves are working correctly. Sometimes the source can be a stuck shut off valve at a sink or fixture especially if you have recently utilized it to turn the water off. These shut off valves are easily jammed with debris which will keep it from opening or closing fully. If the problem has been long term as opposed to sudden you can have a system problem with the supply lines feeding a branch being too small. In this instance you will need to increase the pipe size feeding the affected area. This will probably be best done by a qualified plumber. If the problem is inadequate flow to the entire house then you need to analyze any recent changes that you may have made in your system. Have you added or removed a fixture? If so you may have to increase the size of the main supply pipe from the water meter to the house. Again this will require a plumber. Lastly if the problem is inadequate pressure throughout your entire system then it is time to look at the source. Check with neighbors and see if they are having a similar problem, walk the area in your yard where the main line feeds to the house and check for the presence of standing water or soggy soil that would indicate a leak and call your water utility and ask for a pressure reading. You can also have a plumber install a pressure gauge, inline, on your main and this will allow you to take incoming pressure readings for yourself and some can allow for adjustments to the limits of the pressure from your main.
Whatever your pressure problem happens to be do not jump to the immediate idea of increasing the pressure. You can add a pressure tank to your system to boost and better control your home if the service provider can do nothing to increase your pressure. Examples could be that your home may be at the end of the main water line, uphill or you may be the victim of over growth in your area in which the provider has not been able to keep up with demand. As with many of the above issues a qualified licensed plumber can be your best source of advice and assistance in the solving of your problem.