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Feeling Low? Here's How to Cure Those Water Pressure Blues
Not since the infamous
shower scene in the movie "Psycho" have
there been such moments of dread.
You're in the shower and suddenly,
unexpectedly, just as your body's all
lathered and hair drenched in shampoo
bubbles, your whole world takes a shocking
turn for the worse. The water coming out
of your showerhead slows to a trickle. You
scream to the party downstairs...
"Shut off the darned washing machine!" Or
stronger words.
You are singing low water pressure blues.
You are joined by a chorus that rings out
in millions of American homes. What will
stop the yodeling?
Something to consider right off the bat:
Is it just your problem, or are your
neighbors experiencing it too? If they
are, be happy - not because misery loves
company, but because the cause is probably
a blockage or leak in a community water
line, and that means you don't have to pay
for repairs. Notify your local water
department as soon as possible so they can
get busy fixing the problem.
If it's not a neighborhood problem, you
still could get off the hook if the leak
or blockage is between what's sometimes
called the "Buffalo Box" (B-box) and the
community water main. The B-box is an
underground valve located somewhere on or
near your property. If a problem is
outside the B-box, it's usually the
community's responsibility. On the
household side, it's yours. Water
department workers use listening devices
to pinpoint the leak.
In older communities, calcium deposits
that build up on the inside of water pipe
to restrict flow also may cause
neighborhood water pressure problems. It's
just like hardening of the arteries and is
especially common with iron pipe.
All of this is the good news, relatively
speaking. Remember, your city or village
pays for any repairs on the other side of
the B-box. Anywhere on the homeward side,
and the bill is yours.
Professional plumbers can perform a
relatively simple test at the service
valve to determine if the pressure is good
as it enters your home. If it is, the
problem obviously lies inside.
Sometimes there is a leak or blockage in
the service line between the B box and
where the service line enters your home.
This calls for major repairs that involve
digging up and replacing pipe. Often this
type of repair runs several thousand
dollars.
More often, though, the problem will stem
from something inside the house,
especially if it's an older home. Low
water pressure is common in older homes
for a couple of reasons. One is
calcification. As years go by, just as
with outside water mains (or human
arteries), lime deposits build up on the
inside of your home's water pipes, with
hot water lines more susceptible than
cold. Every plumber has tales of removing
ancient pipe so clogged up you can barely
see through to the other end.
Plumbers sometimes can remove this kind of
blockage by blowing high-pressure air
through the water line. This is a
relatively inexpensive task.
Homeowners can tackle the job themselves
with rented equipment, but proceed with
caution. Inexperienced users often end up
simply removing old rust that has built up
on the inside. Yet that congealed rust may
be the only thing stopping the pipe from
leaking. Plumbers love it when homeowners
try to blow out their own water lines.
They know that as often as not, a few
months down the road the pipe is likely to
start leaking like a sieve, which leads to
piping replacement jobs costing thousands
of dollars. As the saying goes, "You can
pay me now...or pay me later."
Water leaks and blockages aren't the only
cause of low water pressure. A more
fundamental reason - again quite prevalent
in older homes - is undersized water pipe.
Many homes were built in an era when the
typical house had only a single toilet and
tub. Back in those day three-eighths inch
diameter water pipe was the standard.
Since then many households have added a
bathroom or two, along with many more
water using appliances. Nowadays half-inch
water pipe is the minimum you will find in
modern homes, and three-quarters of an
inch is recommended for many of them,
especially multi-story homes.
Be mindful of this with any remodeling
plans you may have. Many remodelers
provide elegant designs and
ultra-luxurious fixtures but know next to
nothing about behind-the-wall requirements
to supply those products. Tales abound of
people excited to try out their new hot
tubs or steeping baths, only to find out
that it takes a better part of a day just
to fill them.
Re-piping is expensive but often the only
way to permanently solve a home's water
pressure blues. Sometimes cost can be held
down by replacing only the horizontal
piping, which is most susceptible to
build-up of deposits. If the risers also
are involved, it becomes far more
complicated. That's because to get to the
risers plumbers usually have to poke holes
in walls. (Hint: If at all possible, try
to persuade your plumber to get at
bathroom riser from outside the bathroom.
You save money replacing plaster and
wallboard as opposed to tile.)
The good news is that re-piping is a job
that shouldn't be required more than once
in a generation. If you can take the pain
that one time, you can avoid a lifetime of
blood-curdling screams from that second
floor bathroom!
Oh, one more thing. If you suddenly
experience slow flow out of a single
faucet or showerhead, before you call
anyone, check to see if it might be caused
by granules in the aerator or showerhead
openings. If so, clear them out. This
costs nothing to fix.
Proprietary Information, Contractors 2000,
Inc., Copyright 1995
If you are looking for a
plumbing contractor in the San Gabriel Valley, please call us
today at 626-359-1864 or complete our
online service request form.
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