Why Your Water Pressure Is So Low
When it comes to household problems, a lack of water pressure is probably low on your list of priorities. While it is an annoyance, it is one that many homeowners tend to just accept it as the norm and not look into solving the problem. However, low water presure typically means that there is a problem with the plumbing in your home. Here are some reasons why your water pressure could be so low.
Galvanized Plumbing
One of the biggest causes of low water pressure is galvanized plumbing. These pipes will rust from the inside, and you won't be able to see how much the pipe is constricted until you go to replace the pipe with a new one.
Your horizontal pipes are going to be the biggest problem of all the plumbing in your home. This is because sediment in your pipes will collect along the bottom of a run of pipes. Sediment builds up, and eventually a blockage occurs. Vertical pipes won't be so bad, which is why plumbers don't usually replace them until it is absolutely necessary. Usually running the sink or flushing the toilet is enough to flush that vertical pipe and keep it much less corroded than the horizontal pipe.
Hot water lines that use galvanized plumbing also tend to corrode faster than cold water lines. This is why you may notice fast flowing cold water in your home, but the hot water takes a long time to start coming out of the faucet.
The solution to this problem is to replace your old galvanized plumbing with new pipes made out of copper or PEX. These pipes will not collect mineral deposits nearly as fast as the galvanized version.
Leaks
Your home may have hidden leaks inside it that you are not aware of. An easy way to determine if your plumbing has a leak is by shutting off the flow of water going to all faucets and appliances, including your hot water heater. Look at the meter and see if it is registering any water usage after a couple of hours. If it is, it means that there is a leak somewhere in your house. It could be from a pipe in a crawlspace, or even a toilet that is running. These leaks need to be fixed to correct water pressure issues.
These are just a few reasons that could cause your home to have low water pressure. If you can't identify the problem, contact a local plumber like Optimum Plumbing LLC that can help.