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Keeping a good water pressure balance—not too low like a trickle, and not too high like a fire hose—is essential for the functionality and longevity of your pipes and joints. Any sudden change in water pressure means it’s time to call a plumber in Coweta County, GA. Read on to find out more about signs of water pressure problems in your home. This doesn’t mean that you should adjust your water pressure too high, though, as elevated flow rates can be both dangerous to your home and damaging to your water filter.
Older homes had pilot lights that had to be lit at all times for the stovetop to work, but recent gas stoves use an electric ignition combined with the natural gas. Interstate pipelines transport natural gas at 200 to 1,500 psi. The gas’ volume is decreased by 600 times but can move faster. Does your home gets its water from a well rather than a municipal source? The ideal well water pressure is still between 40 and 60 psi. If you're not sure what your water pressure is, you can easily test it yourself!
Clogged Faucet Aerators and Shower Heads
© alexandrink1966 / FotoliaLow pressure can be quite frustrating. Not only will it make your faucets trickle and slow down your washer, it can also lead to issues with your toilet or be an indication of a major problem. Thankfully, low pressure is often easy to diagnose and treat without having to call for professional assistance. Bring the pressure within the pipes to five psi and wait 15 minutes, checking occasionally for any changes in pressure. Locate the main shut-off valve and turn off the water supply. Once the cover is out, you will see 2 springs compressed using a nut on a bolt.
This tends to come from the fact that the water is not going as fast and has more air in the pipes than it should. Do you need to adjust your home water pressure to help your water bill stay low? Then you should see what the current pressure is for your home and what psi you should change it to ensure that it is the proper pressure for safety. There are a lot of variables when it comes to the level of water pressure in the home. The elevation of the residence in comparison to the water tower or tank can make a difference, as well as the number and size of the homes the system is servicing. Corrosion is most likely to be a problem in a household with galvanized steel water lines.
What Should Home Water Pressure Be?
There's nothing worse than coming home from a hard day at work, looking forward to a nice shower, only to be met by trickling water due to low pressure. On the other hand, excessively high pressure can be a source of great stress and frustration. From joints to supply lines to faucets, damage can occur throughout the plumbing system; high pressure will also keep your water bill higher than it should be.
And that is simply how to measure the water pressure in the house. Again, if the pressure is not what you want adjust it at the pressure reducing valve. If there is no pressure gauge in your plumbing you will need to measure the water pressure in your house yourself. Do you live in an old house, that uses galvanized pipes instead of PEX or copper pipes?
What Is Normal Water Pressure in a Residential Home?
Checking the water pressure yourself is not difficult, and may help you to identify potential problems before they become costly. It should cost you about $10 to measure the water pressure in your house, which you use to buy a pressure gauge if you do not already have one. In some instances, you don’t even need to measure the pressure; you just have to check it. If you have leaks anywhere in your pipes, it goes without saying that the water pressure in your house will be reduced. Sometimes it is not even a leak, but an garden hose that was left running by the kids. The highest plumbing fixture pressure requirement is typically 20 pounds per square inch for a temperature-controlled shower.
In this case the pressure at an outside hosebibb may test normal. Uncovering a crimped/undersized line requires measuring the water pressure after fixtures are turned on in the house. The pressure reading taken when fixtures inside are in use is called the residual pressure. If these adjustments don’t work for you, if you’re not comfortable making these adjustments yourself or if you live in an older home, we recommend calling a plumber.
You may need a pressure booster or a constant pressure system for large homes located far away from the well. Older refrigerators were powered by natural gas, but these large appliances are not very common or easy to get. Another major appliance that uses natural gas is your water heater. Water heaters that are powered by natural gas are more energy-efficient and heat your water much faster than electric units.
The zinc used to coat these pipes normally peel off with time, resulting to corrosion and clogging of the pipes, which restricts the flow of water and hence low water pressure. After water passes through the meter to your property, it goes through the pressure reducing valve which reduces the incoming pressure to the preferred pressure. If the water pressure has been set too low, the resultant pressure in your house will be low as well. The solution to this problem is installing a pressure reducing valve, and water heater expansion tank. If your toilets are always running and the flapper is not the problem, the fill valve is defective. The toilet fill valve is connected to the water supply line and fills the toilet tank after each flush.
Then you can decide whether it’s time to bring in the professionals. However, if your home’s square footage is larger than the average house square footage in the US (just over 1,300 sq. feet), then it won’t be classed as a “standard” household. You might need to reconfigure your water pressure to up to 75 PSI if your flow rate is low.
Turn on the faucet completely to get a reading of the pressure. Turn the power back on every time you make an adjustment and check if it is what you want. Jennifer has over 18 years of experience in the water treatment industry by providing filtration solutions for residential ,commercial and industrial clients.
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