How to fix shower water pressure?

[RenoPause]

Hi Folks! I’m having a long standing issue with my shower. The water pressure in one of my showers upstairs is not as good as the other showers in my house. I’ve changed to a new showerhead and still no difference. The water flow restrictor has been removed too. Any ideas what may be causing this and the solution?

[MitchellMc]

Hi @RenoPause,

Is this something that has changed, or have you always had poor pressure? Do you have two showers upstairs? If so, how is the pressure on the other one? If this is the only shower upstairs and you've always had the issue, then unfortunately, it might just be that the pressure of your mains is not adequate to get full flow on the second floor.

Do a bucket test to check if it is just the available pressure on the second floor. Run the shower for 1 minute and check the amount of water you collect. Then check a tap upstairs. If you are getting around the same amount from each point, that would indicate that it's just the pressure on the second floor, and that's the issue. If far more water comes from the tap than the showerhead, there's potentially an issue with the shower. To diagnose further, you'd likely need to enlist the services of a professional to troubleshoot the issue.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[RenoPause]

 

Dear @MitchellMc,

Thanks for your kind advice. I have two showers upstairs; one with poor pressure and the other one with adequate pressure. As you can see from the photos below from carrying out the bucket test, there’s loads more water coming from the other shower. I’ll definitely see if a professional can have a look at it. I suspect this poor pressure issue happened a couple years ago when we changed the tapware on the shower. The taps are like dials that only move 90 degrees and doesn’t affect the flow. See photo below.

 

 

 

[MitchellMc]

Wow! That's a significant difference, @RenoPause. I'd suspect that the ceramic disc in the tap handle could have failed and is not fully opening. You should be getting at least nine litres per minute even with the dial-style 1/2 turn ceramic disc handles. 

You might like to switch the handles out for an Estilo Chrome Wall Top Assembly Set. These are the older style handles that need to be turned several times to open/close. They are not overly expensive and it's probably the easiest way to troubleshoot if it's the current handles that are the restriction.

Mitchell