So let’s clear the air first: I can all but hear you scratching your collective heads. If you’re a regular reader, you’re going, “Huh? – what does a post on how to improve shower water pressure have to do with better parenting?” And if you found your way here by doing a web search, you’re thinking, “A PARENTING blog? What does that have to do with getting a better shower experience?”
Well, if you’re in the latter camp, let me tell you:
No one values a quality shower more than a mama. This is an everyday luxury that most of us took for granted before we became parents.Click To TweetIf you’re in the former camp, then this will sound familiar, so just bear with me for a moment (for the sake of the remaining skeptics out there): How many mamas have a hard time squeezing in that first-thing-in-the-AM shower as often as they’d like? How many have more days when shower-time-never-quite-happens than they’d care to admit?
Yup. That’s why all mamas appreciate the value of a great shower experience, where (much as they’d like to hide there for half the day) they can get in, out, and get the job done. Quickly AND efficiently.
So if your shower isn’t quite working as well as it used to, or getting the job done effectively in minimal time, here are a few thoughts to consider. These basic shower-maintenance tips should help give you a better shower experience that the whole family will appreciate.
This is a collaboration post. However, please know I stand behind everything written here, and only include links to products/services/resources I’m willing to recommend personally.
Do You Have Water Pressure Problems?
There are few things better in this world than taking a hot shower that feels as though it’s going to knock you over. A lot of people have to deal with low water pressure in their homes, and never get to experience the joy of something better for themselves.
And once you’re used a powerful shower, it can be hard to go back. If you’ve noticed that showering when on vacation is a different (and better) experience than showering at home, then this is a clue that your home system could be due for some maintenance. If this sounds familiar, the tips in this post should help!
The first thing you have to do is figure out whether the water pressure issues are isolated to your shower, or are more widespread throughout your home. If the problem with water pressure is only something you notice when showering, then this should be pretty easy to fix.
However, maybe you’ve noticed this problem throughout your home – not just when showering. Having a home with poor water pressure isn’t fun. While it isn’t the end of the world, either, it can dramatically impact your time showering, cleaning, and doing other jobs which involve water. This can be so bad in some places that two taps can’t be used at once without reducing the flow of both of them to a crawl.
If this sounds familiar, you may want to skip ahead to the end of this post. Otherwise, we’ll start with the basics of upgrading your shower experience:
Solutions To Common Home-Water Pressure Problems:
1. Replace Your Fittings
If you mainly notice water pressure problems at a particular shower head or sink faucet, the first thing you’ll need to do is replace your fittings. The shower head, taps, and other parts of your plumbing system can all accumulate mineral buildup over time. With scale blocking the inside, water won’t be able to flow as quickly. This is a top reason your shower may not be as powerful as you’d like.
Fortunately, swapping out your shower head is an easy project. You can buy these goods in most hardware stores, and the way they are installed is widely universal. This means that anyone can handle a job like this without the help of a professional to guide them.
There are so many choices available; my personal favorites, though, are shower heads with adjustable water-flow settings and shower heads with handheld options. The adjustable settings mean I can turn up the power for when I want a powerful hair rinse or a hot-water massage.
And handheld-option shower heads are great for using to rinse kids’ hair in the tub, but work like a regular shower the rest of the time.
2. Clean The System
Once you’ve got more water flowing through the shower head, though, you may find yourself with a new problem: standing water in the shower!
If the water is coming out of the shower faster than it’s draining out the other end, you’ve got another problem to fix: cleaning out your drain. Depending on how long it’s been since you’ve done this, you may need to call in the pros.
RELATED POST: Should You DIY or Call A Pro?
Thankfully, this is an easy job for a professional plumber to handle. If you really want to try DIYing first, you’ll need a drain snake of some sort. (You’ll probably want some rubber gloves as well – trust me, it’s a gunky, icky job.) We have a drain snake like this one, and it gets the job done, every time.
Want to avoid this nastiness going forward? Then invest in some drain guards and pipe filters, which can help reduce the amount of hair going down the drain. (Making sure to clear any hair from the drain after each shower will also help!)
3. Add A Pump
If home water pressure is an ongoing problem for you, not just in your shower but throughout your house, it may be time to consider a pump. (I honestly didn’t even know this option existed until researching this post!)
Special pumps to improve home water pressure have been on the market for some time now. They attach at the place where your water supply enters your house, and can significantly improve your in-home water pressure.
Having something like this installed is a fairly big job, making it worth looking for a professional who can handle it for you. This is a more involved project, but a worthwhile investment if your home’s water pressure is always weaker than you would like.
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This is something that we have not done in a long time. It’s honestly something that you don’t think about so this is such a great reminder.
This mama needs high water pressure! It’s the first thing I look at when I’m staying in a new place.
Ok, I didn’t know about adding a pump where the water enters your house! That may be something I look into as we have had issues with water pressure and have already tried a few of your other solutions.
This is informative and definitely helpful to families with such problems. Thankfully, this is not an issue in our home.
All excellent advice. I have pretty good water pressure but may look into this.
These are helpful tips. Will be bookmarking this page because I know sooner than later, I may need these tips!
Some days, my shower is the only 3 minutes of quiet I get! These tips are very helpful.
I have a shower head that comes with me from apartment to apartment because I love it so much. But I have dealt with all these issues over the years and have never thought to add a pump in. That would be super handy.
We got a new showerhead about a year ago and it made such a difference! We now have one that has the option of the handheld, the wall, or both on at the same time. The handheld is great when we need to help the kids, as you mentioned, or when I really need to get my own hair washed out well. About every 4 months or so, I use baking soda and vinegar to clean mine to help clear off the buildup.
We had awful water pressure in our shower. Finally replaced our shower head and such a difference. You have such great tips here.
We just got a new shower head and it was so much better than the cheap one that was put in by the previous owners of our house. We love the pressure we get out of it!
We just got a new shower head and it was LIFE CHANGING! SO great and now our shower water pressure is amazing
oh my gosh you are SO right- i def always appreciate a shower ( to get away from the kids haha ) but def thinking the pressure needs adjustment after reading this!
You are so right about Mama’s appreciating their showers. I know I do. It’s about the only alone time I get anymore. I make sure that the shower is nice and hot, the water pressure is perfect and it’s cleaned out. If the
Showering is the only alone time I get, I’m going to make sure it’s the best. Lol
We added a pump and a new fitting and what a difference it made!