How to Increase Water Pressure

When it comes to water pressure, it is commonplace for us Brits complain of low pressure. But how do we know whether the water pressure in our property is deemed “normal”, and what options are available to increase water pressure in the shower and our homes?

Water pressure isn’t necessarily an issue when it comes to washing your hands or brushing your teeth, but when it comes to running a bath or jumping in the shower it is an entirely different ballgame. The last thing anyone wants after a long day at work, is to be greeted with a trickle of water from their shower head, resulting in an entirely unsatisfying experience.

In order to prevent this from happening, you should check what kind of showers are best for you, and which are most compatible with your home water system – especially when re-decorating a new bathroom – as this is often found to be the problem when there is low water pressure. So, how can you test whether your water pressure is normal, and then how can you increase your water pressure?

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Table of contents:

How to test water pressure in your home?

– What does your water flow rate mean?

How to improve water pressure?

– Install a shower pump

– Buy a specialised low-pressure shower head

– Install a pressurised unvented cylinder

How to test water pressure in your home?

One twist of the tap will be enough to tell whether you have low water pressure in your home, but how extensive the problem is can be tough to tell by just looking at it. Instead, there is a simple test you can carry out at home to measure your water flow – all you need is a one litre jug and a stopwatch. Don’t worry if you don’t have a stopwatch at home, you can use a mobile phone or tablet. (Please bear in mind that if you share a supply pipe in your home, this test will not be accurate for you).

1)  Place the jug under any tap on the ground floor of your property and ensure no other water is running elsewhere in your home.

2)  Set your stopwatch to six seconds, and at the same time, start the timer and turn the cold tap on full.

3)  Once your stopwatch has reached six seconds, turn off the tap and timer, and measure how much water has been collected.

4)  To do this, take the amount of water in the jug in litres (for instance, 0.6 litres) and multiply this by 10, which will calculate the water flow rate in litres per minute (e.g. 0.6 litres x 10 = 6 litres per minute).

If your water flow rate seems abnormally low, you may have a problem with your water supply. In this instance, you should contact your local plumber for advice or get in touch with your water company.

In addition, bear in mind that demand will also affect your water pressure. For example, at around 7am you may experience low water pressure as other people in your area may be using water for baths and showers, and in the height of summer people may be watering their gardens frequently.

Watch how to do it here:

– What does your water flow rate mean?

Now that you have a number, you may be wondering “what should my water flow rate be?”. Put simply, this is commonly what the figure means for your household water pressure:

– Less than 10 litres per minute = Low water pressure

– Between 10 to 15 litres per minute = Okay, but could be improved

– Above 15 litres per minute = Good water pressure

How to improve water pressure?

– Install a shower pump

Once you have calculated your water flow rate, if you have identified that your home has low water pressure, your best bet is to buy a shower pump to increase water pressure in the shower, no matter how good your mains water pressure currently is.

You may be wondering how does a shower pump fix the problem? A pump, although not cheap, can significantly help to increase the water flow to your shower, which should increase water pressure. These can be purchased from around £100, and you will be able to see a distinct difference in the performance of your water when having a shower.

– Buy a specialised low-pressure shower head

If you are simply looking for a short-term fix for your water pressure, or perhaps a cheaper option, it is certainly possible to increase shower pressure without apump.

First of all, you could consider buying a specialised low-pressure shower head that are designed to perform better in low pressure water systems, rather than a standard shower head. You may be thinking “can a shower head really increase water pressure?”, but it can make the world of difference. In comparison to water pumps, shower heads that considerably easy to install and cheaper to purchase.

Browse through our shower head range on our website, to find the perfect shower head to increase water pressure for your existing shower. Here at Showerstoyou.co.uk, we have found some of the very best shower heads to increase water pressure:

– Bristan Traditional Chrome Round Fixed Showerhead – 200mm

– Premier Chrome Square Fixed Showerhead – 200mm x 200mm

READ MORE: The Best Shower Heads for Low Water Pressure

– Install a pressurised unvented cylinder

However, if you are looking to invest into something more long-term, it is worth thinking about installing a pressurised unvented cylinder. This involves removing the cold-water storage tank which feeds the hot water cylinder and replacing it with a pressurised cylinder that takes its feed directly from the mains, to increase the number of shower litres per minute.

However, this option can be costly. Installing an unvented cylinder will require a specialist as the job can be complex, requiring plumbing to be extended or even replaced entirely. However, thankfully, it is something that only needs to be done once as the cylinder itself will last a lifetime.

Although, before you go down this route, it is best to get some advice from your local plumber, as some unvented systems are not compatible with some mixer and power showers.

 

Feature image credit: Maxal Tamor / Shutterstock