A SHOWER WITH POWER

GET A BETTER FLOW WITH THESE TIPS FROM A PRO

A plumbing pro shares tips to boost your water pressure for a better spray.

Ever come home from a fancy hotel stay and find yourself disappointed by your own shower? If your showerhead is weak, you may think it’s caused by low water pressure–and it could be–but it’s more likely that faulty plumbing or fixtures are reducing the flow or volume of water at your showerhead. I sat down with Master Plumber Suzanne Boyer to sleuth out this situation, discuss common causes and offer solutions.

INITIAL DIAGNOSIS MAIN WATER PRESSURE

If your plumbing fixtures don’t provide an adequate stream of water, the water pressure entering your home could be low. However, Boyer says the water pressure from the street is usually too high instead of too low. Optimal pressure is about 40 to 60 pounds per square inch (psi). Boyer has seen it as high as 150 to 200 psi. And that’s why many homes have a water pressure regulator or pressure reducing valve (PRV) installed near where the water main enters the house. Low water flow in your house could be caused by a faulty PRV, or the main water valve could be clogged or stuck partially open.

You can check the water pressure coming into your house using a water pressure gauge that costs about $10. Attach the gauge to an outdoor spigot near your water main and open the spigot valve. If it reads well above 60 psi, you need a new PRV. If it’s below 40 psi (and it’s probably not), check with neighbors to see what they’re experiencing.

The next step is to call a plumber; you may have a leak somewhere. In the meantime, keep reading, because we might have a fix for you and your inadequate showerhead.

BRANCH LINE OR HOME RUN?

If you experience low water flow with just a few fixtures in your home, like in your shower, you may have a clogged branch line, or a line that’s plumbed incorrectly or has too many fixtures on it. It’s common in older homes to have more than one fixture on the same supply pipe.

The new homes that Boyer plumbs have direct supply pipes, or “home runs,” serving each fixture. She says it’s best to have one dedicated branch supply line for each bathroom. She often gets calls to correct this issue for clients and then ends up upgrading most of the plumbing in these older homes.

“Today’s PEX piping installs so much faster and cheaper than copper, so redoing the supply piping in a whole house is an affordable upgrade, especially if you get them all taken care of in one fell swoop.”