{"id":138060,"date":"2021-08-26T10:58:51","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T15:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=138060"},"modified":"2024-06-29T20:18:56","modified_gmt":"2024-06-30T01:18:56","slug":"how-to-increase-the-water-pressure-in-your-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/skills\/homeownership\/how-to-increase-the-water-pressure-in-your-home\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Increase the Water Pressure in Your Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Does it seem like the water in your home\u2019s faucets comes out at a trickle? Are you frustrated with how long it takes for your washing machine to fill up with water? <\/span><\/p>\n

If you answered yes to either of these questions, there\u2019s a good chance your home has low water pressure. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, it\u2019s an easy problem to diagnose and solve. Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1: Measure Your Water Pressure<\/h2>\n

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The ideal water pressure for most homes is between 40 and 60 PSI, with 50 being the sweet spot. <\/span><\/p>\n

Checking the water pressure in your house is really easy. First, you\u2019ll need to buy a water pressure gauge. They\u2019re about $15 at Home Depot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve got your gauge, attach it to an outdoor faucet and turn it on. If the gauge is showing a water pressure below 40 PSI, you\u2019ve got low water pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 2: Adjust the Pressure-Reducing Valve<\/h2>\n

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Suppose you\u2019ve determined that your house has low water pressure. In that case, your first step is to see if you can increase it by adjusting the pressure-reducing valve (also known as a pressure regulator) on your home\u2019s main water pipe. First, you need to check if your home has a pressure-reducing valve. A lot of older homes built before the 90s don\u2019t. <\/span><\/p>\n

If your home does have a pressure-reducing valve, it will usually be near where your main water pipe enters your home. Another place it could be is right near your water meter. Look for a conical-shaped valve. This is your pressure-reducing valve. On top of the valve is a threaded bolt. Loosen the lockout nut and then turn the bolt right to loosen it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check your water pressure gauge. Once it gets to 50 PSI, tighten the lockout nut to secure the valve in its new position. <\/span><\/p>\n

Step 3: If Adjusting the Pressure-Reducing Valve Doesn\u2019t Work, Call the City<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s say adjusting your pressure-reducing valve didn\u2019t increase your water pressure (or you don\u2019t have a pressure-reducing valve). In that case, your low water pressure may be an issue stemming from your city\u2019s water system. Give the city a call to see if they\u2019re aware of any problems with the water main near your home. If they find an issue, they\u2019ll resolve it, and your water pressure problem is solved, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

If there isn\u2019t a problem with your city\u2019s water main and you still have low water pressure, you\u2019ll need to proceed to step four.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 4: If City Hall Can\u2019t Do Anything for You, Install a Pressure Booster<\/h2>\n

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If you\u2019ve done the above and still have water pressure issues, you\u2019ll need to install a pressure booster<\/a>. A pressure booster is an electric pump that boosts the water pressure coming from your main line to an appropriate level before it enters your house. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pressure boosters cost between $100 and $800. Installation is a complicated job and doing it wrong can really mess up the piping in your house, so it\u2019s something you\u2019ll want to have a licensed plumber do. <\/span><\/p>\n

If after following these steps, you\u2019re still having trouble with low water pressure with your shower head specifically, the issue is likely that it\u2019s still got a regulator in it that was installed by the manufacturer. Search YouTube for instructions on how to remove the regulator from your particular shower head \u2014 you\u2019ll find it makes a big difference!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does it seem like the water in your home\u2019s faucets comes out at a trickle? Are you frustrated with how long it takes for your washing machine to fill up with water?  If you answered yes to either of these questions, there\u2019s a good chance your home has low water pressure.  Thankfully, it\u2019s an easy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42277,42276],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-138060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homeownership","category-lifestyle"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2021\/08\/water-500x280.jpg","aom":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2021\/08\/water-372x230.jpg","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2021\/08\/water-320x213.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138060"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138072,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138060\/revisions\/138072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138060"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=138060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}