Wednesday, April 20, 2022

How To Turbocharge Your Shower's Water Pressure

 

How To Turbocharge Your Shower's Water Pressure

Photo via Pixabay

You're probably reading this article today because you feel unhappy about your shower's water pressure. You want to feel refreshed and invigorated when you have a shower, but it's not easy to achieve that goal when your shower's stream of water is more like a sad trickle!

There can be many reasons why your shower experience is lackluster each day. Fortunately, it's possible to identify and resolve the most common causes of low water pressure with showers.

With that in mind, take a look at the following points to determine the likely cause and its solution:

Low Mains Water Pressure

One of the most common reasons for a lackluster shower is low water pressure. Mains water gets supplied to homes like yours at high pressure, so if the water pressure from outlets like showers and faucets is low, there could be several causes for the problem.

The following three examples are typical causes of low mains water pressure:

No Water Storage Tank

If you have a large home with perhaps two or more showers, you might find the problem is that you need a water storage tank near your shower unit.

Water storage tanks can help with low pressure problems, especially as you can connect high-pressure pumps to them to "feed" water to your shower at a stronger flow rate.

Partially-Closed Inline Valves

You might not realize it, but there are several inline mains water valves in and around your home. For example, there's a water meter valve, a primary shutoff valve, and there are likely other inline valves, such as in your bathrooms.

If one or more of those inline valves are partially closed, they could be impeding the flow rate to your shower head. It's worth checking that they're all fully open.

High Demand For Mains Water Elsewhere At Home

The mains water plumbed into your home gets shared across several or even dozens of outlets like faucets, toilets, baths, and exterior garden hoses.

If there is consistent demand for water across several of those outlets at any given time, you will notice a drop in water pressure across your home.

Worn Mixing Valve

Does your shower have a mixing valve to help you regulate the temperature and pressure of the water that comes out of the shower head? If so, you may find that your mixing valve is faulty.

Mixing valves don't last forever and can succumb to problems like scale and corrosion. Have a plumber check that yours is functioning as it should, and replace your mixing valve if it's showing signs of wear.

If you're a keen DIYer and you enjoy tackling DIY projects in your home, you could always have a go at changing the mixing valve yourself!

Inadequate Shower Head

Last but not least, the problem you experience with low water pressure might be down to the shower head. As you can imagine, the scale on shower heads can block the small jet nozzles, resulting in inadequate water pressure.

One thing you could try is covering it with a robust plastic bag filled with vinegar. It's a cheap yet effective way of clearing scale deposits on shower heads.


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