The shower is a vital part of most of our daily lives. When the water pressure is poor, it can drastically reduce the quality of your shower. Rinsing soap out of your hair can take minutes. Having shower water pressure problems can also mean struggling to get all parts of your body wet because the water won’t project far enough. Fortunately, Reliable Drain & Plumbing is here to help. Let’s address some common causes for shower water pressure problems.
Incorrect Plumbing Design
The first, and most unfortunate, of the possible shower water pressure problem causes is incorrect plumbing design. If your home’s plumbing was designed poorly or installed incorrectly, it could be causing issues. This happens often in cheaper houses where corners were cut – perhaps literally.
If your plumbing has intersections where it shouldn’t, pipes at the wrong angles, or any number of other faults, it can reduce pressure and slow water down to a trickle. If none of the other causes seem to be the right fit, you may need to have your plumbing inspected.
Clogged Shower Head
If you have hard water with any amount of sediment or minerals in it, it’s possible that your problem is coming from a clogged shower head. Individual holes in the shower head being clogged would actually raise the pressure of the water coming from the other holes. However, if the main exit from the pipe and into the head is clogged, the pressure will lower. Water won’t flow freely into the head before exiting through the spray holes. The reduced flow into the head means it will simply leak out of the shower head instead.
Most shower heads will unscrew at the base. If you want to check your shower head, simply unscrew it, remove it, and turn your shower on. If the pressure is perfectly fine coming from the protruding shower pipe, its the head that’s stopping things up. However, if it’s still coming out pretty slow, head back to the drawing board.
Leaking Pipe
Another cause for shower water pressure problems is a leaking pipe. Your shower relies on full pipes of flowing water to get the pressure it needs to run properly. Therefore, if you have a leak somewhere in the in-flowing water pipe, enough water may be escaping to reduce your water pressure.
A leaking pipe comes with other concerns as well. Where it the escaped water going? Leaking water flowing into an unfinished basement is concerning enough as it can attract pests and mold. However, if you have finished rooms below the bathroom, it could end up soaking into insulation, causing water damage, and leading to mold within your walls. That is to say, it’s not something to take lightly.
Fix Water Pressure Problems
If you want to get to the bottom of your water pressure issues, have a professional from Reliable Drain & Plumbing come out and check things out. There are plenty of things that you can investigate yourself. However, if you hit a dead end, you can count on us to help you out.
