Low Water Pressure

Repair help for the do-it-yourselfer.
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mommy_noel
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:33 pm

for the first two weeks of this year we were without water due to frozen water lines busted water lines frozen sewer line and leaking toilets... the sewer line finally thawed on its on last week and we were able to finally use the water... well ever since we had water again our water pressure has been extremely low.... when u first turn the water on it normal and after few seconds has went down to a small stream... no water pressure anywhere except in bathroom sinks... The most affected areas are kitchen sink, washer, and bathtub.... it takes a ridiculous amount of time to do anything...

I was wondering what could cause this and is there maybe buildup in the water heater causing this or something blocking lines?

if you turn on bathtub and then kitchen sink while bathtub is on absolutely no water comes out of kitchen sink....

How to fix this problem...

please answer ASAP
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Greg
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Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

It sounds to me like a chunk of crud is blocking the line somewhere, usually at a fitting or elbow. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
mommy_noel
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:33 pm

how do I find that?
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Well you really aren't going to like this, but you basically have to take the system apart until you find it.
First make sure that the system is not frozen. If you are sure there is no ice, start at the last place that you know you have water and work your way from there, one joint at a time. We had a person a few years back that did this job over 2 weekends and finally found a marble in the line.
One thing you could try first is to unhook your supply line from the ground and blow compressed air backwards through the system and see if that frees things up. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
mommy_noel
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:33 pm

I'm sorry I'm a little confused
"First make sure that the system is not frozen. If you are sure there is no ice, start at the last place that you know you have water and work your way from there, one joint at a time."

I have water in every location but not full pressure or full flow or whichever i am not sure the difference...

how can I take the pipes apart? will they go back together?? or will I have to cut and replace? I have the gray old pipe cause I have yet to switch to pex...

Also im confused as to the last line u wrote... One thing you could try first is to unhook your supply line from the ground and blow compressed air backwards through the system and see if that frees things up.

unhook from the water heater? or you mean cut my pipe from the ground and blow towards the house or blow towards the ground.... ugh... im so confused...

could it be buildup in my water heater?? I really don't want to tear my entire underbelly up checking supply line...

What is the difference between low flow and low pressure?
cskal
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:38 pm
Location: NEPA

Maybe something happened to the bladder tank, possibly a rupture or no pressure in the bladder? If there is no pressure in the bladder tank the only pressure that you will get would be that generated by the pump. Also possible leak in the piping from the well pump up to the well head?

In my case, the original bladder tank was buried :evil: 5-7 feet underground within 5 feet of the well head. Hopefully your tank is above ground which would make it easy too check.
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Ok if you are on a well that does change things some. I would disconnect the main line coming into the home and check for a good flow there first. If you have a good flow to the home, start chasing it until you loose it.
Unless you have Iron pipes or PVC, CPVC glued pipes most homes use crimped fittings. See the articles section to see how the crimp type work. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
mommy_noel
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:33 pm

ok greg and cskal i have no idea what you are talking about ... what is a bladder tank??

no I am not on well... my main water line is cpvc then goes into water heater and old gray poly feeds water to the sinks faucets and tubs...

now please explain what you guys mean cause i am lost...
cskal
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:38 pm
Location: NEPA

Sorry, I was assuming that you had a well . I did not realize that you had city/municipal water. In that case, my post does not really apply to your situation. Sorry to add to your confusion.
vulture
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:20 am
Location: Lincolnton, NC

I had a similar problem with the hot water in my kitchen, turned out to be a bad shutoff valve under the sink.

The rubber gasket inside had separated from the part that turns and was floating around inside.
If I closed the valve and reopened it, It would work good for a while, and then taper back down to a trickle

Hope that helps
It is the mark of an instructed mind, to rest satisfied with that degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits, and not to seek exactness, when only an approximation of the truth is possible.

~ Aristotle ~
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Brenda (OH)
Posts: 325
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:57 am

First thing to try, remove the aerators from faucets... this means screw off the end of the faucet...

there are screens in them... often water hardness salts (white crud) is clogging the screen..

the water may now flow great, but with a lot of splashing, at the faucet. you can try cleaning out the screen and top of disk or whatever parts are in the aerator.

working backwards, if that did not fix the problem,,,,

look under the sink.... do you have shut off valves? with the taps open (handles turned to on) have one person watch the flow, and the other person turn the shut off valve on and off...

the flow should have changed from fast to nothing.... if it did not, the clog may be before the shut off valve...

if either side of the connectors to the shut off valve screws on, you can turn off the supply to the mobile home, unscrew the connector, stick the open end into a bucket, and turn the water back on... if no flow, then you reconnect the line and work further back towards the incoming water supply....

if any of the connectors off the water heater that supply the house unscrew... you can shut off the house water, undo the screw on connector, and test....

if flow there.. but not at faucet.... clog is inbetween...

if in doing the repair, someone switched from big lines to smaller lines, that can ruin the flow... guess who thought she could have the contractor connect the shower pipe with a faucet braided supply line instead of going straight up with 1/2 inch pex... .don't know why, but no flow until we changed it from one to the other....all I can say is, it surprised the repair guy too... the only draw back I had in having a mobile home repair guy do the replumbing job instead of a plumber... lol..

hopefully, you would not have to cut lines to get to the crud, but like the guys have mentioned, tracing a clogged line can be tricky..... new lines, no clogs lol..

but you really need to find the source of the issue.... the home may be on city water, but if it ever was on a well, the water heater may be full of sediment, and only getting a new water heater will get you ahead of the clogging issues....

I hope this helped the thought process of how to tackle the issue.

Brenda (OH)
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