What Should You Do If the Water Pressure Is Too High?
While water pressure issues are usually out of your control, there are still ways to regulate them. Be sure to collaborate with a professional plumber before you do anything by yourself to avoid bigger problems. Preventing high water pressure is a way to save water, and if there’s something you can do about it, you should take action.
What’s worse is that high water pressure damage is unnoticeable until there’s further damage. On a positive note, there are some things you can do to figure out and find solutions to high water pressure.
Why High Water Pressure Is a Serious Concern
Water has the potential to damage the pipes in your home since they can be intense with so much force. It can ruin your sewer line over time, and this disturbance can lead to further devastation, forcing you to have it repaired at a high cost. Damage may also be noticeable, which is how it could worsen from there. High water pressure damage can start with small leaks, then turn into a pipe burst if not addressed immediately.
High water pressure can also wreck your appliances. The more water pressure goes into the washing machine, the more it takes away its lifespan and performance, creating irreparable damage and expensive replacement. It also negatively impacts your fixtures, like faucets, showerheads, and toilets.
Even when your water heater has a thermal expansion tank to handle extra volume, it can still create costly damage if the water pressure is too high.
Since gallons of water are wasted with high pressure, it also inflates your utility bills. It’s evident that heavy amounts of water go to waste every time you turn on your faucets and showers. It’s all going to add up in the long run.
Most likely, high water pressure is caused by your water supplier. You’re also more likely to experience high water pressure if you live near a fire hydrant since it requires much higher water pressure than residential buildings. A defective expansion tank can also cause high water pressure in your water heater.
How to Identify and Fix Excessively High Water Pressure
The cause of high water pressure is likely something beyond your control, but there are ways to figure out where the problem is coming from and take actions to regulate the pressure.
- Pay attention to every faucet
Water fixtures around the house can show you clues and hints if there’s high water pressure. You can likely notice them in washers and aerators, which can lose their function because of the constant intense pressure of water.
Look into faucets, especially when another fixture is on the run, like your shower and other faucets in your home. Another telltale sign you can observe is the bursting of water each time you first turn on a tap. You might also find excess water spraying out in a different direction aside from the general steady stream.
- Listen to the pipes around the house
It’s possible that you can notice shaking and hear banging sounds in the pipes around your house. This can be a vital sign that you have some severe issues with water pressure. This happens when a rapid and powerful stream of water suddenly stops flowing. Notice it when water the bangs into your pipes like a freight train when you shut off a faucet.
- Check on your appliances
Inspect any appliances that give out water, like your washing machine, water heaters, and dishwasher. Since the appliances are the things high water pressure damages first, there may be visible symptoms in them as well. They can start leaking once high water damage has wounded them for a while.
- Have your plumbing properly maintained
It can be easy when you’re fixing minor plumbing problems—running toilets, tightening the pipe under the sink, and cleaning drains. However, it’s still important to seek help from a professional once you detect a bigger problem. Neglecting and putting it off can destroy the depths of the sewer line. You can contact a sewer line cleaning service to prevent or fix clogs and pipe bursts that can worsen with high water pressure.
- Adjust the water pressure regulator
If you haven’t yet gotten a water pressure regulator, you should. It is a plumbing valve that controls the water pressure in your home at a safe level. It can reduce the water pressure through the primary water line before the water flows into the plumbing fixtures in your home.
Final Thoughts
Most people don’t realize that high water pressure is just as much of a problem as low water pressure. While low water pressure causes immediate problems, high water pressure can result in huge amounts of water being wasted and costly repairs in the long run.
