Learning how to test your own household water pressure is a skill every homeowner should learn. Testing the water pressure regularly doesn't just help detect leaks; it can also find potential problems with your water system. Testing your water pressure is fairly simple and a quick preventative measure that ensures you always have even water flow and catch leaks before they lead to expensive water damage or repairs. Unfortunately, most people don't test their pressure until they notice a difference in water flow. Here are the steps you can take to test your own household water pressure. You'll need a water pressure test gauge, which you can buy from any home supply store for a few dollars.
1. Start by finding your outside water faucet. Make sure the faucet isn't leaking, which can ruin the resuts.
2. Attach your gauge to the outside faucet and turn the water on completely. The gauge will read the pressure for the house. The pressure can range anywhere from 40 psi to 100 psi, so you'll need to check with your water department to find out what the average range should be in your neighborhood. If the reading is outside of this range, you may have an issue that needs to be addressed by a plumber. At this point, you'll need to contact a professional plumber in California.
3. Next, turn off your outside faucets and test the pressure for each floor of your home. Start by testing the pressure in your shower, the kitchen sink or anywhere with running water. You can test indoor water pressure by removing the faucet nozzle or shower head and attaching the gauge as you did before.
4. If you're getting inconsistent readings from the test, start attaching the gauge to each faucet in your home to pinpoint the problem.
If you or your plumber finds the water pressure is too high (anything over 80psi is too high for a home), they may recommend you install a pressure-reducer valve, or PRU, to reduce the pressure to an acceptable limit. Your plumbing system can also be protected against pressure surges in the future by installing a thermal expansion tank, which gives hot water from the water heater space to expand.
Even if you have a pressure regulator installed by your plumber, make sure you regularly test the water pressure as these devices can wear out over time. Usually failure is subtle and you'll notice drops in pressure when the water is being used. Some also fail to limit spikes in the water pressure over time, leading to faucets that leak mysteriously.
Contact Inland Empire Plumbing today if you find your water pressure is outside the normal range to get to the bottom of the problem and have a pressure-reducer valve or regulator installed.
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