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Low water pressure in faucets and showers has become a daily routine nowadays. There's nothing more annoying than spending twice the usual time washing dishes, especially in this fast-paced life where consumers want one-click solution for most of the things. But what's more interesting is that many households bear with this nuisance for long as they are unaware how to fix this simple plumbing problem; and it might not be feasible for many to hire quality plumbers as the charges would obviously be on the high end.
Most how-to guides to solve this water flow problem focus on dealing with the faucet and internal pipes. However, the approach this article takes is quite different as we seek to find the root of the problem rather than making a temporary fix. First thing you need to do is confirm that yours is the only house affected by this issue. You can ask a few guys in the neighborhood for this. If you live in an apartment, it would be better to ask those living on top of you if they are having a similar problem in the same bathroom/kitchen where your problem exists. If someone else shares this problem with you, then you know the problem lies somewhere outside and I would strongly recommend you call find a plumber as this is a matter of the whole neighborhood. In some cases, it might even be outside the control of a plumber as the flow may get disturbed on municipal levels.
Also go outside and see if the water pressure at the hose bib is satisfactory or not. If you observe that the pressure level there is almost perfect, then you need to locate the problem inside your house. In case you are experiencing slow water flow just on sink faucets, try to open them up a bit and see if the screens have anything clogged inside that may be hindering the flow of water. But if you face the low water pressure problem in all taps, the problem may be located elsewhere. Go check if the shut-off valve is fully opened or not; sometimes, we do open these valves but forget to open them to the full. The system installed near the shut-off valve can vary from one household to another. So whatever system you have, just ensure it is operating as it is meant to operate.
One more thing to note is that water lines coming from the municipal supply are larger and have a greater diameter. Lines that go from your house to the main municipal lines have smaller diameters. When water travels through all these lines, it experiences a lot of friction from the walls of the pipes. It can be that a very short pipe installed just from your house to the next line is causing too much friction and slowing the water flow. It can also be that all lines inside your house have a very small diameter, which would automatically lessen the water pressure. And even if something small in size gets trapped inside one of those lines, it's going to virtually put an end to the water supply. While these would be an expert plumber's job, you can take note of this if you ever design a house or make a new house. Always take care that you use ¾-inch pipes rather than ½-inch ones. And if you are choosing a new house to shift into, then take care to check the water flow in the lines before you make the decision.
Scott Rodgers is a master plumber who has recently begun writing articles for both a plumbing and non-plumbing audience. To view more of plumbing articles, visit http://eLocalPlumbers.com
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