A normal household water pressure is somewhere between 30 and 80 psi, but unfortunately many homes find themselves at the lower end of that scale. If your water pressure is under 45 psi you may find that the flow of water from your taps and showerhead is quite slow.
The great news is that you don’t just have to put up with low water pressure! Especially when it comes to your shower there are things you can do to increase the pressure quickly, easily and permanently.
Here are my top three…
1. De-Restrict Your Shower Head
Most modern showerheads have built-in restrictors to slow down the flow of water. It’s a rubber disc with a hole in the centre – the smaller the hole, the less water is able to pass through per minute.
There’s a sensible reason behind this – the less water that’s used the better it is for the environment and the lower your water bill will be – but when you combine a restrictor with low water pressure to start with the end result can be water this barely trickles out of the showerhead!
Even if your household water pressure is normal, the hole in the restrictor can get clogged up with debris over time, reducing the flow of water even further.
Here’s how to go about removing that restrictor – it’s simple to do and you’ll notice an instantly increased water flow!
Important note: tampering with your showerhead could void your manufacturer’s warranty, so only try this if you know what you’re doing or the warranty has already expired!
- Open up the shower head – you should find instructions on how to do this in the shower’s manual
- Using a dull blade, carefully remove the gasket and place to one side – you’ll need to re-use this
- Using the same knife, gently prise the restrictor out of the shower
- Put the gasket back in its place to create a water-tight seal, and reassemble the showerhead
2. Elevate Your Water Tank
The vast majority of showers rely on gravity to operate, and it’s common sense that the higher the water source is the more forcefully it will come out of the showerhead!
If your shower is fed by a cold water storage tank, consider raising it up either by adding a platform underneath or by actually swapping the room it’s in.
Important note: there are legal restrictions on the height of the water tank allowed, so make sure you check them out for your local area or country before making any changes.
3. Install a Shower Pump
If you’ve tried both of the above and are still left with low water pressure in your shower (or if moving the water tank is impractical and your showerhead didn’t have a restrictor) you can still solve the problem quickly and easily with a booster pump!
A single impeller pump or twin impeller pump will boost the flow of water to the showerhead manually, forcing an increase in pressure.
If your shower is just a bit old and outdated, you might even want to consider replacing it altogether – Galaxy Showers make a range of electric showers, some of which come with a low-pressure booster pump already built-in!
About The Author: Estelle Page is an interior designer and DIY addict currently renovating her old Victorian home to bring it up to date. She blogs for Alert Electrical, creating budget-friendly DIY guides and tips that can save you time and money!
