Water Pressure Drop?

Hello, Recently I noticed a drop in water pressure in my house. House is only 1 yr old, I can't see any leaks in the basement, everything seems fine. Im not handy at all. Any suggestions where to start?

Thanks!

 

Town water or well?

If no well, do the neighbors have the same issue?

Pressure reducing valve failing?

Any DPW work done recently in your area?

 

DPW?

 

Department of public works..... street work, water works, town work... etc.

 

Well, not that I know of. But it is a new development.

 

Are you on a water meter?

I had to have mine replaced, tree roots clogged it up.
After it was replaced, had more water pressure and had to adjust all of the sprinklers.

 

Do you have a PRV in your house ? Is there any chance the house suppy ball valve is not fully open ?

 

Yes, I will monitor it.

 

I doubt it, everything was fine on Thursday. Then noticed Friday it was getting bad.

I believe I have a PRV.

 

If you find no issues within your home, as Oz mentioned. Call the city as mentioned as well, asking them to do a leak check. Most municipalities will send someone out to monitor any water usage while all interior plumbing is off for free. They are able to read your meter from the street.

 

Don't adjust it... yet.

Have the town look into what the trouble is.

If you adjust your PRV to a higher PSI now, the 'street problem' could clear up and you'll have more pressure than desired. 80psi is the max, otherwise you can blow up plastic components (toilet guts..etc).

 

For about $5 you can get a pressure meter from any big box store and see what your actual pressure is. Beyond that, low pressure at 1 fixture or all fixtures? Does the toilet/dishwasher take longer to fill?

 

Everything seems normal with the toilets. Mostly the shower is the most noticeable drop with the other faucets.

I called the builder warranty dept, he said that we should expect some pressure changes with new construction.

I will try the water utility tomorrow.

 

New construction has nothing to do with it. That is total BS, trust me. Any plumber here will say the same.

 

+1 on the pressure gauge. It's a good tool to have in your toolbox. Check the pressure on the sprinkler line (before entering the house) and then on the water heater drain for the inside of the house. the PRV should be set at about 50 lbs as long as the pressure is greater than that before entering the house. Also open the meter cover outside and see if it is full of water. That would be a clue that something is wrong.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

Is the pressure low late at night the same as in the day? Neighborhood usage will drop the pressure during high demand hours.

Your pressure regulator (PRV) has a screen on the inlet side. Some have a separate access for cleaning the screen (Wilkins 600 for example) rather than taking the whole thing apart. The outgoing pressure is adjustable too... turning the bolt on top in, increases the pressure. Typically 50 psi is what they come set at, with a range from 25 psi to 75 psi.

 

any chance you have a water softer as the first appliance in line?

If so, the problem could well lie there.

 

Good one

 

If the city flushed the main recently or there has been heavy construction in the area it's pretty common for sediment to get trapped in you faucet aerator's and shower heads so just remove and look for sediment. If your pressure prob is the whole hose including your hose bibs then I'd check to see if your meter is running with everything at the house shut off, that would tell you if you have a leak somewhere. If none of those are the culprit then I'd move to the regulator. Mine failed and it was a PITA to replace but it was over 20 years old.

 

This is true, but the screen in the regulator is the first place crap catches, if there is a screen.