There’s nothing like walking into your home after a long day of work,
stepping into a shower with the beating spray of hot water in mind and
then watching in dismay as a limp dribble of water comes out of your shower
head. Sure, you can get the soap out of your hair eventually, but a shower
with some decent water pressure sure would be nice. There are a few things
you can do to increase the pressure, but in all likelihood, what you probably
need is new pipes.
Install Larger Pipes
Sometimes, your pipes just aren’t big enough to hold the amount of
water required to let the pressure build. No matter how big your pump
or hot water heater is, you can only fit so much water in your pipes.
If you increase the size of your main line going through the house, your
pressure may increase as well since there is more water being stored in
the larger pipes before they get to the smaller ones and the eventual outlet.
Look for Corrosion
This area of California has a particular problem with corrosion in the
pipes, we find this in Irvine often. When older homes were built here,
they used materials that are not used in plumbing today. Combine those
materials with the minerals in the water here and eventually the result
is going to be a build up inside of your pipes. Just as it was mentioned
above, your plumbing not only delivers the water, but stores it as well.
When there is very little room because of corrosion, it’s like having
pipes that are too small in the first place.
Another issue with corrosion is the faucets. They also go through a buildup
and that can cause the screens to be blocked. If you don’t have
screens on your faucets, the faucet itself probably has some kind of build
up in it. You may even notice that your water sprays in an odd direction
or something similar. When you see this, know that is what the inside
of all your pipes look like.
Don’t call a plumber because they don’t specialize in replacing
old pipes. They can, but it’s going to take them longer and be messier
than it would if you call an actual repipe specialist who knows how to
access your pipes with surgical like precision and put things back the
way they were. The right people for the job will save you both time and money.