Weak Water Pressure???

D

Durkee

500+ Posts
Anyone have any idea what would cause the water pressure in my house to be really weak in all of the faucets, shower, etc? I'm thinking maybe there are roots choking the main pipe going into the house, b/c I have two big pecan trees in my front yard, and maybe I need to have it rootered out or something, but I want to see if anyone else has any ideas before I pay someone to do that.
 
We had real bad water pressure in our hot water line when we moved into our house. It turned out that the valve on top of the hot water heater was stripped and it wasn't opening all the way, so we had the valve replaced.
 
If you live in hilly areas such as NW Hills in Austin, you can lose some PSI from the main water line.Not sure how to fix though.
 
I have bad news for you. If this is a new problem, you most
likely have a broken pipe.
Turn off all the water in your house, then check to see if the meter is running. If it is, you have a broken pipe.
Just happened to me. (Caused by a root, by the way). My water bill was $700 and the SOBs at the city wouldn't cut me any slack at all. The only symptom was weak water pressure.
I couldn't believe that much water could disappear underground without seeing a trace on the surface.
Call American Leak detection. They found the sucker and fixed it without having to dig up the whole lawn. They were amazingly good.
 
If it's not a leak. (you turn off all water and meter stops) call the city to check their side (before the meter) and the meter itself. Construction on water lines or firefighters flushing hydrants will often dislodge the crusty buildup that is always present in Austin due to our "hard" water. This shale will flow out of a hydrant by the pound and this can easily clog your meter and any/all of your faucets. On another note- some subdivisions (Circle C for one) have a pressure regulator installed just on the owners side of the meter. These too can fail and will drastically limit your pressure and volume.
 
Doesn't sound like this would be your problem since it's all over, but when our kitched faucet all of a sudden lost pressure, I called out the plumber. All the f-er did was unscrew the little piece that holds the screen on and knock in on the counter a few times to knock out the calcium buildup and it was fine. I felt like a tool though!
 
In our neighborhood, Copperfield, there is a valve or regulator out by the place where you turn off the water going to your house, I guess just on the house side of the water meter. This device had some defect and had to be replaced in most of the homes in the neighborhood, because of a similar problem to yours. Sorry, this happened a few years ago, and I can't remember exactly what the part that failed was called. You could ask your neighbors, or if you have a neighborhood association, if there is any common failure like that in your area.
 
I have had the problem with the leak before and the city gave me a harsh screwing, too, but I know what to look for now and it's not a leak. I might try getting them to come out and test their side of the meter, that sounds like a good idea. What sucks is that when you first turn on the shower, the water comes out at regular pressure for just a second, then sputters and drops down to a trickle. I wish I knew more about this kind of stuff!
 
has your water bill been abnormally high? If the prolem persists, you may want to have a plumber out to check the pressure using a guage and see if you have a leak. Sometimes the leak can be the size of a pinhole and very hard to detect without a plumber with a good guage.
 
Like I said, I had that problem two years ago, but I know how to check it now and when the faucets and everything are off the water is totally off--no leak. I'm calling the city today to get them to check out their side of the pipes before I call a plumber.
 
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