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.
