Taking a shower with poor water pressure can be frustrating, and what many fail to recognize is the impact which their shower head has on water pressure. There can be a variety of reasons why a shower is receiving poor water pressure. It could be as a result of old-plumbing, it could be down to where an individual lives or it could simply be the existence of air in the plumbing system. Regardless of what those issues may be, the shower head you use can make a huge difference to the pressure of the water.
Here is what you should know about the impact which shower heads can have on your shower’s water pressure.
Increasing Low Pressure
Many of the shower heads on the market are actually designed for properties which have low pressure. These are especially good for those living in apartment blocks, where low pressure is not easy to fix. What these heads do is increase the velocity of the water as it comes through by forcing the water through small holes, which in turn helps to pack more of a punch when it is delivered. If you have poor pressure, then this is the ideal product which can help to alleviate some of the problem.
Faulty Flow Restrictors
Shower heads which are designed to control the flow of water can often become faulty and that is also going to have an impact on the water pressure. Despite the fact that they are usually designed for low pressure, when these heads malfunction they can actually deliver poorer pressure than a traditional shower head. For this reason a shower head should always be the first place that you check when you notice poor pressure. After all there is little point in going through the plumbing system looking for problems, when the solution is in fact far more simple.
Replacing And Cleaning Your Shower Head
The shower head should be replaced at least once every 4 years, no matter whether it is designed for low pressure or not. If you do find that the shower offers poor pressure, but you don’t have an issue in the rest of the home, then cleaning the shower head could also be the fix. Over time the minerals in the water deposit onto the shower head and eventually block up the holes, which impacts pressure. You should be looking to clean the head once every couple of months. Instead of using bathroom products, look to remove the shower head, and soak it in a mixture of hot water, bicarbonate soda and vinegar. Once you have let the head soak, run water through it to get rid of the solution, and you should have much cleaner exit holes in the head.
Poor water pressure inside showers can make for a poor shower experience. If you have noticed that the water pressure is worse than it has been in the past, then the first step should be to take a look at the shower head.