My shower has horrible water pressure. If you like the feel of a soft spring rain as you shower, well, my shower is the shower for you. If you have a ton of hair to try to wash and rinse every day… it’s The Suck.
I’ve taken the shower head off an soaked in in white vinegar to get all the deposits and crud out. I’ve taken a look to see if there is a flow regulator in there, but I’d have to take the thing apart to get past the particle filter (I don’t know what it’s called).
I rent, so there may be a limit to what I can do personally. Do those shower heads advertised to increase water pressure actually work?
What can I do to increase the water pressure in my shower?
What is the flow like when the head is off? Does it flow with force, like out of an open garden hose, or is it a weak dribble? If the flow is good, get a new shower head. If not, I’m not sure what you can do as a renter, other than request to the landlord it be checked.
If there is a flow regulator you would probably have seen it inside the fitting when you removed it. It looks like a washer with a too-small hole. It may be a low-flow shower head, rather than having a regulator stuck in it.
Is your low pressure limited to just the shower head?
I had low water pressure in my house and tried this one from Oxygenics (which was sold by and branded as Sharper Image) and found that although the lower flow really does the job just as well without extending time in the shower, it was not quite as comfortable (hard spray), plus it was very noisy.
I’m a guy without all that much hair so don’t know this would work for you…
Go to the store and buy a “water saver” shower attachment. It’s like a washer that screws onto the shower neck and the shower head screws onto it.
Use this without a shower head, and you will have a very strong jet of water that blasts the shampoo right out and gives a decent neck/shoulder massage. I loved mine but the wife likes a gentle spray for some reason. Fortunately our new house has better pressure.
If you’re in a major metro city (like ibôápka… huh?) and in an apartment building or something, the floor you’re on might be the problem. Especially in older buildings, pressure boosters (or whatever they’re called) are something most buildings don’t care about.
“Nebraska, The Cornhusker State, entered the United States of America as the 37th state. Nebraska had been part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The state is actually named after the Platte River from the French meaning “broad river.” The Omaha Indians called the river “ibôápka” also meaning “ibôápka” but it could be interpreted as ‘ibôápka’.”
Major metro, but in a duplex.
Are there any of those shower heads that claim to increase water pressure that actually work?
I’m a renter, too, and have always had good results with low-flow shower heads. My current place has terrible pressure (except the toilet seems fine - weird), the worst of all the places I’ve lived in, but once I put water saver heads on my kitchen sink and on the shower ($5-$8 each), it’s fine. Think of the low-flow as putting your thumb over the front of a hose - less water comes out but it will be a much harder stream on the receiving end. I know what it’s like to have a hard time getting shampoo out of my hair!
Another recommendation for the low flow head. I have one similar to, but not quite the same as needscoffee’s link. Wait a sec, here it is.
It gives a very intense spray that I actually prefer to fancier heads, plus it has that little ‘off’ button that can be handy for soaping up. I have seen them at the hardware store for five dollars which is a steal.
Alternatively you can buy a wand that you can direct the spray with for about thirty bucks. I have not found one that has as good a spray as the above mentioned low flow head though.
I had recently replaced a faucet in the house and had to turn off the water at the meter in the basement. When I had finished (including the shut offs under the sink) I neglected to turn the main back up to full pressure. The difference was noticeable. It may be worth checking.
My dad recently had the city repair the water line from the main to his house. It turns out the old lead pipes were clogged. I’m not sure how he identified that the problem was within the city responsibility. He said his shower was like someone peeing on him.
Its a quality product made in the USA and comes with 2 disc’s very easy to clean and just great. I have had 6" diameter shower heads and this little one is much better IMHO and cheap!
Unless you have an atypical situation, you should know that the pressure of the water when you flush your toilet has virtually nothing to do with the water pressure in your pipes. Flushing a standard toilet just releases the water that’s standing in the tank, and gravity does the work from there. The tank then gets refilled from the incoming water supply.