Poor Water pressure in my home when more than 1 faucet opened

[jwesleyruzek]

Hello...I am not a plumber or much of DIY... I usually know enough to be dangerous. I have a 1963 ranch house with basement. Kitchen/dishwasher at one end of house and 2 full bathroom at the other end. Washing machine and waterheater in basement.

Any time the washing machine is filling, then there is no pressure coming at the bathroom lav faucet. (actually has gurgling sound of air entering the line at lav faucet) When taking shower and toilet is flushed, then pressure goes very, very low, but still positive until toilet refills.

Basically, I am trying to get some ideas of the possible causes and potential solutions.

At the same time, I am thinking of adding a full bathroom into the basement.

I am just in the thinking about it stage of this remodel project and want to know what I am up against before I actually start.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

Wesley

 

[Gary Swart]

Has this always been a problem? What is the source of your water? What type/size pipe is the supply line and what size/type are the pipes under the house? Have you check the pressure with a gauge? The air in the lines makes me wonder if you have a well and pump. This could be due to a number of factor including inadaquetly sized pipes, corroded galvanized pipe, a bad or partly closed valve, defective pressure regulator (if you have one) or a defective pump. Pretty hard to make any specific recommendations without more data. You can get a pressure gauge for around $10 that will attach to any faucet with a hose fitting.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[jwesleyruzek]

Yes, this has always been a problem, but I was not home enough until recently to notice how severe the problem is. I can not say if it has gotten worse over time.

I did have a leaking flapper in my toilet that was always running so the problem was even more pronounced. I fixed this and have been watching and notice the problem still happens.

I am on City/County water and sewer.

I have a combination of 1/2" and 3/4" copper running under the house. I think this was replaced sometime in the past. I do know that there are some iron pipe threads on the pedistal lav in the master bathroom, but have not found them anywhere else.

I do not know the water pressure. I have not tested it. I will pick up a pressure gauge this afternoon. I presume that I will be able to use an outside spigot for the hose threads. Please confirm this will be OK.

My comment of the air in the line was that there was not enough pressure in the bathroom when I run the washing machine. When the washer was filled, then the pressure returned to the bathroom.

I do not think that I have a pressure regulator.

Thanks for your help. Any other comments will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gary Swart]

I suspect a bad cut off valve or one that is not open completely. Since you are on a commercial water system, I doubt of pressure is the problem, your utility provider can tell you what pressure your main line carries. The pressure gauge will probably indicate you have plenty of static pressure, somewhere around 50 to 60 psi. Your problem is one of insufficient flow through the lines. While granted you have to have some pressure to push the water, pressure alone is not enough. You must have large enough pipes (which you do) and those pipes must not be restricted. (which is what I suspect) Since you have copper pipe, it is unlikely that they are corroded inside, so that leave a cutoff valve If your whole house that has this problem, I'd start by having a plumber check your water system starting at the meter. Usually if there is a problem from the main line to the meter, it is the responsibility of the provider to fix it. From the meter on, it's your dime. From your brief description, I think your house is probably plumbed OK, there's just something the is preventing full flow.

 

[Plumber1]

pressure/volume

In my area the cities have long ago given up the responsibilty from the street in.
Gary is right. If the restriction is not at the meter, it very well could be from the street in.

This is my 2 cents worth.........

It's not a pressure problem, it's a volume problem and let me say that I've seen this over and over through the years. Certain kinds of iron sediment can line a service line so than when you cut out a section a foot long, you might not be able to even see through it. Sometimes other types of sediment can develope. This usually happens where there is a line restriction like a corperation or at a valve inside the house that has built in restrictions. May be you have gate valves at the meter, but may be you don't too.
If your basement isn't finished, get a five gallon pail. Shut the water off at the meter and take the meter out and open the house supply wide open. If you get an initial blast and then if the water flow grinds doen to a much smaller flow, you can bet that it's outside.
Example, where I live now, we have a community well. The homes are 20 years old and we have a water volume condition. The powers that be were going to replace the copper from the street to the bulding. When the workmen disconnected the line at the valve at the main (corperation cock), I asked if he would open the corperation cock and push a channel lock handle through it. When he did that ,wow, the flow of water just increased so much. So now when we dig now, we just look for a plugged valve at the main. This is our test.: Put a gauge on the sillcock and flush a toilet, then flush another one at the same time. Static pressure is somewhere between 60 and 80 lbs. here. If the pressure drops 30 or 40 lbs or more before digging then repeat the test after and the pressure drop is 10 or 15 lbs. from the static pressure you've done it.
We've had to re-adjust the sprinkler heads in the yard.

I think that you can do the test. If not call a recomended plumbing co........