I just moved into a new apartment and an issue is the very low pressure of the shower head kind of like a dripping faucet. I seem to have a decent sized water tank and larger than my last apartment which had higher pressure in the shower head.
I’ve read that there’s restrictors in the shower head to reduce the water flow to save the apartment money because they pay the water.
I’ve also read that there are high pressure shower heads on Amazon. They promise to increase the pressure even if it’s low.
Is that really true? I know my apartment won’t do anything to increase the pressure.
The size of the water tank is not related to the pressure. The pressure is whatever the pressure is in the pipes. How’s the pressure in your faucets?
There are flow restrictor shower heads, and swapping it out for a standard shower head may help. Also, sometimes the flow restrictor is simply a washer in the shower head with a tiny hole, and you can remove it.
I once bought a high-pressure shower head (branded as Sharper Image but I think they now sell as Oxygenics). It did work, but the way it works is to force the water out at a high pressure mixed with air. This does not increase the volume of water that comes out, it just makes it come out harder, kind of like when you cover the end of a hose with your thumb to spray your best friend. (It was also noisy.) There are other types as well, but in all cases they will increase pressure but not volume.
Depending on where you live (like maybe Arizona or somewhere), there might be regulations as to what they are allowed to have. You also need to consider what sort of hot water service you have as to what you might be able to have (I have an instantaneous type, and low flow showerheads stop the heating “switch” from kicking in, so I can only have an “old-fashioned” showerhead.
I used to have low pressure at one place I rented. I had a showerhead that squirted the water only around the edge for the “spray” and you could turn it so that the water just came out like out of a hosepipe, which was good for when you needed to rinse shampoo. It was the same amount of water, it just seemed better when it was “spraying”. It was waterpik brand and I just screwed it on myself and took it with me when I moved. This was ages ago, they probably don’t have that same style any more, I don’t know.
There are lots of options, but rather than order anything online, get a plumber out who knows the various products and can recommend the right thing for your place. I know my hot water guy had to fiddle about with my showerhead when he replaced the element in my hot water service, and these things aren’t cheap to buy.
Take off the showerhead and see what happens when you run the water. If you are getting a lot more volume then it’s the showerhead, if not, well you got problems that are not likely fixable.
If the pressure in your sink faucets is OK, try this (it’s easy, and cheap):
Take a large plastic cup, fill it halfway with a fixture cleaner (CLR brand is a common one), and immerse the shower head in it. Tie it there, and let it soak for several minutes (see the directions on your cleaner). Then throw that away, and run the shower for a minute to clean it off.
If there are mineral deposits or rust on/inside the shower head, this will clean those out – that may be all that’s needed to get your pressure back.
I just bought a new one last week. I wasn’t happy with the flow on the new one. I looked closer at the installation instructions and there was indeed a flow inhibitor. It was a little washer with an x in the center. Removed it and it was much improved.
If cleaning the shower head does not work and the pressure is good elsewhere I would look to the diverter (the device that changes the flow from tub to shower).
I had this problem when the 3 stooges from the landlord replaced the part with the wrong one.
This is a fairly simple fix if you are handy (many good vids on utoob) but if you aren’t handy then find someone who is. When I owned a house my plumber told me he admired my ability to know when to stop trying to fix it
It probably just got looked over by maintenance during the make ready. Just call your leasing office and tell them to replace it.
The leasing office rather replace it themselves than have you go out and buy one on your own. The reason being, if you move out and neglect to remove it, and they wind up renting the apartment to someone else; that makes them liable for the shower head.
I have maintenance friends tell me all the time some residents will install ceiling fans and never bother to remove them when they move out. They HATE this because that means the Maintenance guys have to remove the fan before they can rent it to another tenant.
Even though said ceiling fan would make the apartment more attractive to future tenants.