Friday, January 08, 2010

Under Pressure

I may not have the most glamourous apartment in the world, but no one who's ever showered here hasn't mentioned that I do have the best water pressure ever. While it's easy to take something like this for granted, a quick (attempt at a) shower at Michael's quickly reminds me of just how lucky I am. He's lived in the same apartment since the mid-'90s, but to this day he (and we) cannot figure out what the problem is. When you run the water through the faucet it comes blasting out. But no matter what type of shower head you put on, it goes from decent to drizzling within weeks. If it's a hard water problem, then it's some serious hard H20 'cause all the CLR in the world does not make the shower head work again. Also, we live a stone's throw away from each other, so could the water really vary that much in three tiny blocks? It's literally gotten to the point that when I shower at his place, I just sit in the tub and use the faucet as a shower "head." Otherwise, it takes me 15 minutes to wet, wash and rinse my hair -- and don't even get me started about part of the body that aren't nearest the spray. Anybody have any ideas?

15 comments:

Mark from NYC said...

It goes against all that we believe in and stand for... but maybe his pipe is too big! A narrower pipe squirts harder -- but doesn't make you the star of the gym locker room...

Anonymous said...

Can you run a hose from your place to his? ;-)

Anonymous said...

Water often contains pieces of grit, sediment, even tiny pebbles and sand that it picks up from old pipes and from the original municipal water source. It's especially common in old buildings and in areas with old pipes. My guess is that grit and sand are clogging the showerhead. Remove the showerhead, turn on the faucet and let the water flow into a bucket. See anything?

Doctor K said...

Most shower heads have a filter in the head itself. As the previous commenter noted it is not uncommon to have small bits of grit in the water and these will quickly clog the filter. CLR will open the holes at the surface of the shower head but not clean the filter. Just remove the filter and clean it with an old toothbrush when the water stream decreases.

James in Mpls said...

Most new showerheads contain small water-saving devices that actually clog much easier than older ones. Often, they are thin plastic discs that are inserted into the main housing to reduce the diameter of the pipe. Look for a shower head that has a device that is easily removed. Not as good for the environment but makes a HUGE difference.

Anonymous said...

The pipe leading to the shower head is clogged behind the wall. Get a plumber to replace that pipe and the two faucets, (yes you'll need to patch the wall), and you'll have increased pressure.

Hushpuppy212 said...

I'll bet he has one of those awful 'low-flow' shower heads. I've got one too and I hate it. But I'm too lazy/stupid to figure out how to find one that's not low-flow. Maybe there's a hunky plumber out there who can help us both.

timF said...

New showerheads have flow restrictors to save water. look for a green washer like piece of plastic in the back. remove that and you should have higher pressure

Anonymous said...

i agree with the previous writer. i've had this same problem but finally found the right showerhead. you can't use the ones with tiny holes. the best ones are the hotel kind that have bigger holes and let that sediment through so it doesn't clog the head. ironically, the best showerhead i've found was a simple hotel-kind sold for $10 at walmart...

Anonymous said...

If you can remove the showerhead entirely and watch the water flow without it, do so. That will tell you if the restriction is in the pipes of in the showerhead. Sounds from what you said like it's in the pipes.

Old pipes made of galvanized steel narrow in their interior over 75 years or so as a result of oxidation. It's like atherosclerosis in pipes. Can reduce the flow to a trickle.

If it's not the showerhead and the building's not old and/or the pipes aren't galvanized steel, you might just have a plumping defect behind the walls.

Kenn said...

All showerheads these days are "low flow," which means the flow is restricted. Buy a cheap plastic shower head.If you look in the neck you can see the small hole that the water has to go through. Make the hole larger and you have more flow. If it's cheap plastic it can be done with the tip of a screwdriver. I am assuming you don't have a drill!
This has always worked for me, hope it helps you. There is nothing worse than a drizzle shower!

JerseyGentCMC said...

I installed an Oxygenics shower-head http://www.oxygenics.com/showers.html and was thrilled with the results. If you like a brisk shower these work great. I also agree that there is a buildup of minerals someplace that is restricting pressure. Good luck

hawnlay said...

I agree with "James" in Mpls. A clerk at the hardware store told me that all shower heads being sold now come with little plastic water restrictors in them. When you remove it to clean it, you "may" "accidentally" lose it. This in turn will lead to incredible water flow, which is too bad...wink, wink.

Anonymous said...

I bought one of these "high flow" showerheads on eBay, and it was SO worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SgLKFIJBuQ&feature=player_embedded

Anonymous said...

This one works well for me:
http://www.amazon.com/Alsons-Incredible-Head-Showerheads-652CPK/dp/B000UNU9US