Ah, a warm, pleasant shower—the perfect moment to wash off the worries of the day. But what if your relaxing waterfall has turned into a tiny sputter?
If you’ve been noticing insufficient shower water pressure, you’re not alone. Shower-ers everywhere experience water flow problems due to mineral buildup, leaks, mistakes in their home setups, and more.
So don’t panic if your efforts at fixing the issue aren’t working. You might not even be working on the right cause! Here are some common causes of low water pressure in the shower.
5 Reasons for Low Shower Water Pressure
A Leak in the Pipes
If you’re suddenly not getting the water pressure you’re used to, you might have a leak somewhere in the plumbing system. When some of the water flows outside the pipes, only part of the flow will reach your showerhead, explaining the pressure drop.
This leakage is one of the more hidden causes, as it could be challenging to figure out where the leak could have occurred. If this is the case, you might appreciate the help of professional services.
To figure out if you might have a leak, you can do a quick test of your water meter. Make sure no taps in your house are running, and then check the water meter. Check again in a few hours, and if there’s a change, you likely have a leak on your hands.
Low Shower Water Pressure Due to Mineral Buildup
The water we use, drink, and wash with isn’t “pure,” and that’s usually okay. There are all kinds of harmless minerals flowing through our taps along with the water. When they start to get annoying, though, they cause mineral buildup in your pipes and shower system.
If this happens, it could cause the low-pressure problems you’re experiencing. This one is hard to check for, so it might be better to go ahead and call a plumber to figure out whether your pipes have mineral buildup. Then they can help you sort it out.
In some cases, though, you can try a bit of DIY to see if the problem is in the showerhead itself. Some people use a rubber band to secure a plastic bag with vinegar around the showerhead to dissolve minerals. You can try this and see if it helps.
If not, though, it’s back to professional services. Don’t worry—this happens all the time. A plumber can get it sorted out in no time.
The Design of the Showerhead
Some showerheads have low-flow designs. This trick could save you money on a water bill or save water in an area suffering from drought. You might not have chosen the showerhead yourself, and you might not have known it had a low-flow design.
If you realize that the shower pressure problem is due to a low-flow showerhead, you might want to go shopping for a new one.
A low-flow design could indeed save you a bit on your water bill, but you might decide that the savings aren’t worth the lackluster showers. And your area might not have drought problems anymore, even if it did when previous owners bought the showerhead.
And you might be relieved to hear that plumbers can help with shower repair and replacement as well. So whether your showerhead is malfunctioning or it’s low-flow by design, we can help you get you to the water pressure of your dreams.
An Issue With the Water Pressure Regulator
The water pressure regulator in your house or building is what protects you from super high-pressure flows from the water supplier. If you find that the shower water pressure is low, though, it might be because the water pressure regulator is on too low a setting.
In some cases, you might need to replace the regulator itself. The valve can experience wear and tear just like anything else in your plumbing system, and it might even be leaking. Talk to a professional to figure out if you need a new water pressure regulator.
Other times, though, the regulator’s just on a setting that doesn’t work for your lifestyle. The regulator might allow a decent amount of water flow for one activity at a time, like washing dishes, but adding a shower to the equation could be too much.
In this case, you’ll need to adjust the water pressure regulator to meet all your needs. And for more insight into the effect of multiple water sources running simultaneously, read on.
Other People Using Water
Does the water pressure issue only happen at certain times in the day? If you’re not sure, try showering at a time outside of your usual routine. You might find that the low-pressure phenomenon is something limited to the mornings or evenings when other people around you are taking showers as well.
If you live in an apartment building, this could mean other people in the building happen to take their showers at the same time as you. Since you likely won’t have much luck getting everyone else to change their habits, it might be on you to see if you can switch up your routine.
Yes, it’s a bit of a pain to change your daily schedule based on something out of your control. But the nice showers just might make everything worth it.
Now, Investigate!
There are many different reasons why your shower water pressure might not be living up to its full potential. If you can, try to figure out which of these causes seems most likely for your situation. And if you need help, you can always drop us a line.
Coming up with a solution soon after you notice the problem is always an excellent idea for plumbing. Chances are, the issue won’t go away on its own, and this could even be an indication of something even more profound.
So stop suffering—get some shower relief today!