Q&A for How to Troubleshoot Low Water Pressure

This is almost certainly the aerator. That's the little net cap on the faucet where the water comes out. Sometimes, debris builds up on that thing, which cause the water pressure to be artificially low.

This is typically a problem with your water heater. The first thing you should do is check the shutoff valve on the water heater. Sometimes, people forget to open it up all the way, which can cause the pressure to be a little wonky.

If the hot and cold are both coming out slow, then that means it's most likely the shower head that is causing the low water pressure. Remove the shower head and dislodge any debris that's caught up in the screen. If you have plenty of cold pressure and low hot pressure, then that is most likely the result of the valve itself. In that case, you will need to dislodge the debris that's caught up inside the actual handle where you demand the water.

It sounds like you have air in your lines, try opening all the faucets in your house starting at the one closest to your main, and progressing to the one farthest away from your main, leaving them on until all the air is purged.

Sounds like you have air in your lines. Try opening all the faucets in your house, starting at the one closest to your main, and progressing to the one farthest away from your main leaving them on until all the air is purged.

Hot water comes through the gas/electrical heater. Pipes within the heater may be clogged by calcium deposits reducing the flow.

It sounds like your hot water line was partially clogged and the clog spontaneously broke apart. That explains the increase in pressure and the loud noise. You have dark water because the clog is now flowing out of your pipes as a dark particulate. The dark water should clear out fairly soon -- a few days at most, if you use that faucet regularly. If things don't improve soon, you should contact a plumber to diagnose and fix the problem.

Your new main valve and/or the city side shutoff valve may be partially closed.

Sounds like you have air in your lines. Try opening all the faucets in your house, starting at the one closest to your main and progressing to the one farthest away from your main, leaving them on until all the air is purged.

Call a plumber to check for any leaks. I had the same problem and it turned out there was a pipe leaking in the crawlspace.

Change your line to one with a bigger diameter. Also, install separate lines from tanks for more than four taps.

You should turn the water pressure reducing valve up. If you don't have access to it, or if you are at a company/work, ask the people who maintain it.

It sounds like you have hard water. A water softening system may be needed.

There may be air in the hot water heater if the hot water was turned on while the main was off. This, however, usually causes sputtering and not a delay in hot water. In industrial applications, a recirculation pump is used to keep hot water cycling through the hot water heater (boiler), thus keeping hot water readily available. I have never seen this in a house, but maybe something creative was done in your home. Perhaps most likely is that some insulation was removed somewhere on your hot water lines. Replace that, and your problem should be solved.

I talked to a plumber and he has his house set at 80 PSI. \

Remove the aerator of the faucet and clean it. The aerator is the small cap where the water comes out of the faucet -- it usually has a screen.

Try unscrewing the screen on the spigot where the water comes out, and cleaning the calcium off. Calcium builds up and inhibits the water from coming through.

If the pressure in other faucets in the house is fine, the trouble may be in the pipes leading to the affected faucet. Depending on the age of your house (pre-1960), it may be time to replace some pipes, especially if they are the old galvanized lines; the insides of these pipes are prone to corrosion.

Yes! If you have a faucet upstream from the purifier, test that pressure and compare to the pressure in one of your faucets.

First try adjusting the ballcock in the cistern, this is the most common cause of slow filling.

If every faucet in the house has a similar issue, it's your water heater. If not, check the shutoff valves for the sink, which are located where the pipes meet the wall. Make sure the hot water is fully opened.

Water line breaks and routine repairs can cause low pressure. If that's not the problem, your kitchen faucet either has a clogged aerator on the faucet's tip or it has a clogged cartridge. Both are easy to repair, and you don't need any special plumbing skills.

The pipes are indeed separate systems, and the cause of the water in your toilet could be simply be your fill valve in the tank. Check at the valve beside the toilet; if you have water, then you’ll know if it is the toilet system itself.

Check the pressure balance valve and observe if this pressure drop occurs when you flush the toilet or the sink is running.

The aerators in each sink as well as the shower-heads, could be clogged with sediment as a result of turning off your water in order to replace the water heater. If your plumber installed the water heater, he or she should have checked for this. You will have to remove the aerators in each faucet and clean them out then replace and test your water flow.

It can be due to low water pressure in the line or clogged holes of the shower. Also, pressure in the shower is less if it is coming through the geyser, especially if the overhead tank is located just a little above the geyser height.

There may be some air in the line. Open all the taps, starting from the one which is closest to the point from which side the water is flowing in.

If the problem was not there earlier and has recently come up, then there may be some blockage due to mud/sand or rust particles in the pipeline.

It sounds like you have a problem with the valve behind the shower handle. Keep an eye on it and check for leaks in the wall behind the shower if possible. There is always a chance it was a fluke or a slipped seal that you re set by turning it off and back on but definitely keep an eye on it.

Yes, typically the water in lines above the sink will drain through the sink, give it a few minutes and it should eventually stop.