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If your shower gives you a trickle of h2o that doesn't rinse off the soap on your body, you may be dealing with low water pressure. It'due south a frustrating problem, only information technology's 1 that is often easy to fix. The water pressure level you receive depends on a couple of factors, including your dwelling'south location and plumbing. Check your showerhead and home plumbing first. If the force per unit area is continually low, you may need to contact your utility provider or even install a pressure booster. No thing the trouble, you will shortly be able to enjoy a relaxing shower once more.

  1. 1

    Unscrew the showerhead from the waterline. Twist the showerhead counterclockwise by hand to see if it pops off. If that doesn't work, wrap a towel around the shower arm well-nigh where it emerges from the wall. Hold the shower arm in place by clamping sideslip-joint pliers over the towel. Then, use a wrench to turn the base of the showerhead counterclockwise until it comes off the shower arm.[1]

    • The towel prevents the pliers from scraping the finish off the shower arm, and then always put it in identify before attempting to remove the showerhead.

  2. two

    Detach the screen filter from the inside of the showerhead. Refer to your owner's manual to pinpoint the exact location of the filter in your specific showerhead. It is normally right where the showerhead attaches to the h2o pipe on the wall. Wait inside the showerhead for a rubber band that yous can pull out with tweezers or a screwdriver. Also, look for a mesh screen underneath it that can be removed the same way.[2]

    • Not all showerheads have these filters. Pretty much all modern ones have at least the rubber band, which limits the water menstruation.

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  3. 3

    Scrub the filter with a toothbrush while rinsing information technology in clean water. Move the rubber and mesh filter components to the sink and rinse them off under a gentle stream of lukewarm water. Scrub abroad any debris yous notice, so rinse them clean again. These parts are delicate, so handle them gently to avoid damaging them.[3]

    • After y'all're done scrubbing, you can reinstall the showerhead and test information technology. Sometimes that is enough to become it working once again. However, check the rest of the showerhead for buildup first so you lot don't have to take it downwards again later.

  4. 4

    Submerge the showerhead in vinegar for eight hours. Fill a large bowl or a plastic handbag, keeping the showerhead covered. The vinegar volition begin dissolving whatever mineral buildup around the nozzles and inside the waterline. For the best result, let the showerhead soak overnight.[four]

    • Vinegar is a weak acid, so it's perfect for softening the buildup. Don't use anything stronger than that. Other cleaners could corrode your showerhead.

  5. 5

    Scrub the shower nozzle make clean with a toothbrush or a toothpick. Utilize an sometime toothbrush to scrub off any remaining buildup on the exterior edges of the showerhead, then check the nozzle holes. Look for limescale, usually white or light-green, blocking the holes. Poke a toothpick, needle, or another thin, abrupt object into each nozzle. If you clean the holes correct after soaking the nozzle in acrid, the buildup volition be soft enough to scrape away.[5]

    • Buildup is common and unavoidable, and so set bated time to clean the showerhead about every three months. If y'all know you accept hard water, which is water containing a high amount of minerals, yous may need to clean it more oft.

  6. vi

    Remove the menstruum regulator if cleaning didn't better the water force per unit area. Detach the showerhead from the wall, then expect within it. Pull the condom gasket and mesh filter screen out if y'all run across them in at that place. Wait for a plastic disk with a hole in it. Employ tweezers or a paper clip to pull it out, and then put the filter screen and gasket dorsum in to reassemble the showerhead.[6]

    • Pretty much all modern showerheads have menstruum regulators to reduce water usage. If you live in an surface area that usually has depression water pressure, the regulator turns the h2o flow into little more than than a trickle.
    • Another option is to drill into the regulator to widen its opening. The wider opening lets more than water through, increasing the pressure.

  7. vii

    Upgrade to a new showerhead with improve water flow. You may have bought a low-flow showerhead by fault. Replace it with a smaller showerhead featuring fewer or smaller nozzle holes. Older showerheads often don't have flow regulators in them, so if you lot accept i, it could likewise prepare the problem.[vii]

    • Many newer showerheads are regulated to restrict water usage. In the U.South., for instance, manufacturers have to include a menstruation regulator. If you don't want that, y'all will need to either remove the regulator or track down an old showerhead.

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  1. one

    Expect for kinks in the water line leading to the shower. Many homes accept flexible lines running from the valve in the wall to the showerhead. If your shower has a flexible line instead of potent pipes, yous can run into information technology by removing the showerhead and faucet. Pull it forward to straighten out any bends in it. The water heater in your home may also have a braided line, so cheque in that location besides.[8]

    • Bug with the plumbing are easier to bargain with when the supply lines are starting time installed. If you suspect that something is wrong with the line, y'all may need to have someone open the wall to take a look at it.

  2. ii

    Search your home for any water spots from leaking pipes. Starting from the shower, walk back to where the water utility line enters your home. The plumbing is difficult to trace in one case it passes into the walls, and so await for dripping water, puddles, or water stains. If yous have exposed pipes in your home, such as in the basement, inspect them for signs of damage. Phone call a plumber or repair leaks to improve the water pressure.[9]

    • While you're waiting for a plumber, you can cease the leak past turning off your home'southward water supply or past covering it with epoxy putty. Leaks are dangerous, so become them fixed as soon as possible.
    • If you're unsure whether or not you have a leak, locate the h2o meter. Information technology will be either where the utility line enters your home or in a carve up box. Turn off your home's water valve for a few hours to come across if the meter continues to ascent.

  3. three

    Open the main shut-off valve if information technology has been closed. The main valve to your habitation is typically in your basement or outside the wall where the water line enters your domicile. The valve will take a brightly-colored bike or a lever you need to plough to open it. Turn the handle clockwise to open the valve if it has a cycle. If yours has a lever, lower it then information technology'southward perpendicular to the valve.[10]

    • Contractors sometimes shut off the valve and forget to open information technology back up all the way. If y'all have had construction or repair work washed near your abode recently, check the valve.

  4. 4

    Shut off the pressure-reducing valve if your home has one. Cheque for a valve forth the main water line in your basement. It is a triangular cap with a screw-on it. Plough the screw clockwise a couple of times using a wrench if you can't do it by mitt. Then, test out the water menses in your shower to see how much the force per unit area has increased.[xi]

    • Pressure-reducing valves wear out over time. If yours looks old, shut off the water supply and use a wrench to twist off the connectors on its ends.

  5. 5

    Open up the water heater shut-off valve if you can't go hot h2o. If you tin can become a skilful stream of cold water but non hot water, your water heater is to blame. Locate it in the bottom level of your dwelling. It will have a command valve similar to the i on the chief water line. Turn it counterclockwise to open it, then test your shower.[12]

    • If the valve is open, flushing your water heater could fix it. Otherwise, call a plumber to take a look at it.

  6. half dozen

    Affluent the hot water tank to clear out droppings. If you lot haven't cleared out the hot water tank recently, debris could be blocking the pipes. Deactivate ability to the heater, then run a garden hose from the heater's drain to your yard. Plough on all the hot water faucets in your home, letting the water run until it comes out of the hose completely clear.[13]

    • If this doesn't work, call a plumber to take a look at your h2o heater. It may have a more serious trouble.
    • Water heaters need to be flushed at to the lowest degree once every three years to keep them in working order.

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  1. 1

    Test your home's water pressure level using a force per unit area gauge. Buy a gauge, then find the outlet closest to where the main h2o line enters your home. Information technology volition usually exist an outside spigot, although information technology may likewise be an inside outlet attached to a device like a washing machine. Twist the approximate onto the outlet, and then plow on the water to get a reading. If the water pressure isn't between 45 and 55 psi, and so you know the trouble isn't inside your home.[14]

    • In order to complete the examination, close off anything in your habitation that uses water. That includes water ice machines, running toilets, and refrigerators. Deactivate their water supply or plough off the appliances.
    • Most hardware stores sell pressure level gauge testing kits. You lot can also get them online.

  2. 2

    Call your utility provider if the h2o pressure level is lower than normal. If a pressure guess shows that the water inbound your domicile is depression force per unit area, come across if someone else can set information technology. Contact your local government's water department or your service provider. They may be able to solve the problem by replacing old utility pipes, fixing leaks, or taking other steps to improve their service. It depends on your area and where your home is located.[15]

    • For a amend thought of what is to arraign, ask your neighbors if they are too experiencing low water pressure. If they are as well having bug, then it's the city'due south fault.
    • Your municipal provider may determine not to address the problem. In that case, your but option is to install a pressure booster.

  3. 3

    Install a pressure booster to deal with depression-pressure level city water. A pressure booster is a tank that connects to your h2o main near where it enters your house. Y'all will need to use a pipe cutter to remove a section of the waterline. Then, connect the line to the force per unit area booster by welding new pipes together. Finish by contacting an electrician as needed to wire the booster into your home's circuit billow.[xvi]

    • Pressure boosters can flare-up weak or clogged pipes. Lookout man the meter on the booster and adapt information technology to keep the pressure between 45 and 55 psi.
    • Call a plumber if yous need help installing a pressure booster. They tin also brand sure your home'due south water organisation is capable of handling the increased h2o pressure.

  4. four

    Take showers during the off hours if all else fails. Practice what you tin to fix potential problems in your domicile, and then endeavour using the shower again. If you're certain your dwelling receives water at the right pressure, so you may need to conform your schedule a little flake. Water pressure decreases as more people tap into the utility line. Take showers when fewer people are using the water supply to avert the trouble.[17]

    • Yous may still feel low water pressure level at times even afterward fixing problems. It is normal in many areas.
    • For instance, don't wait to become the good water force per unit area when yous have a washing car and sink running. Too, expect lower pressure in the forenoon and evening, since those are mutual times for other households to employ lots of water.

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Add New Question

  • Question

    What causes weak water force per unit area in the shower?

    James Schuelke

    James Schuelke, along with his twin brother David, is the co-owner of the Twin Home Experts, a licensed plumbing, leak detection, and mold inspection company based in Los Angeles, California. James has over 32 years of home service and business plumbing experience and has expanded the Twin Home Experts to Phoenix, Arizona and the Pacific Northwest.

    James Schuelke

    Professional Plumber

    Expert Answer

    Back up wikiHow by unlocking this adept respond.

    There are three principal causes of low pressure level in a shower. The first is the showerhead: Turn on both the hot and the cold water. If they're both coming out slow, the problem is likely your showerhead. Remove it and make clean out the screen to fix the force per unit area. Alternatively, the valve might be bad. If you take plenty of cold pressure and depression hot pressure, the problem may be inside the valve itself. That means there'southward droppings caught within the handle where you demand the h2o. If neither of those seem to be the cause, yous may have build-up in your pipe that's restricting the water flow.

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  • If you lot're unsure where the problem is or demand to perform maintenance on your water system, call a plumber. They tin can aid you make repairs without the gamble of damage to your home.

  • The h2o pressure yous can expect in your home changes depending on where y'all live. The water pressure level is better for people who alive in lower areas close to water facilities.

  • If y'all live in the countryside, well water is a amend option than utility lines. The water pump in the well can cause depression pressure level when information technology breaks downwardly.

  • If your showerhead leaks, wrap Teflon record around the end of the shower arm before attaching the showerhead to it.

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  • Increasing the water force per unit area can cause a lot of issues for your habitation water system. Too much pressure leads to outburst pipes, and then work at your own take a chance and have a plumber oversee pressure booster installs.

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Things You lot'll Need

  • Towel
  • Sideslip-joint pliers
  • Wrench
  • Bowl or bag
  • Vinegar
  • Old toothbrush or toothpick
  • New pipes
  • Epoxy putty
  • Braided water hoses
  • Garden hose
  • H2o pressure estimate
  • Pressure booster

References

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