Can High Water Pressure Damage Your Home's Plumbing?
High water pressure is a luxury that feels like an essential as soon as you don’t have it. Showers are less refreshing, grime can no longer be blasted right off your dishes, and spraying the neighbor kids with a hose becomes a far less intimidating threat.
So understandably, when we move into a place with low water pressure, we want to resolve the issue quickly. But beware: having too-high water pressure can open the door to other plumbing problems, which may be considerably more annoying. Let’s go over how high water pressure can damage your home’s plumbing, and discuss what you can do to mitigate the risks.
High Water Pressure May Cause Leaks
Take a moment to think of the Grand Canyon. Those vast chasms, deeply etched into the earth, are the result of water erosion on a massive scale. Now, your home’s plumbing system may seem to have little in common with that natural wonder, but it is susceptible to erosion in much the same way.
As high-pressured water rushes through the pipes, it gradually wears them down. You can end up with pinholes that subtly leak. Even entire lengths of pipe can be worn thin, eventually bursting open and creating much larger leaks.
Water Heaters Can be Damaged
Water heaters are particularly vulnerable to problems from excess pressure. The expansion of heated water is usually accommodated by standard tank design when water pressure is normal. But when pressure is high, that extra space can quickly be filled up by an inflow of excess water. This puts enormous strain on your water heater over time.
Another point about water heaters: having high water pressure can cause your hot water supply to dwindle quickly. Your shower will not only drain the hot water faster, the water heater will also begin refilling too early, mixing your heated water with cold. Such a combination of factors can cause your showers to go ice cold in a very short time. This is especially irksome for households that have several people showering every day.
Your Plumbing Could Cause a Racket
Having all that water running through your pipes at a high pressure can be a noisy experience. As soon as the water flow is cut off (by the toilet refilling or turning off a faucet), you may notice a loud clanging sound. This noise comes from your pipes adjusting to the sudden change in pressure. You may also notice a lot of noise coming from appliances like laundry machines and dishwashers. As they fill up, the high-pressured gushing can sound very dramatic.
Over the course of a day, hearing all of this noise can become quite bothersome. It can grate on your nerves, and even disturb sleep if others are using water while you’re trying to get some rest.
Fixtures Might Wear Out Faster
Between the heavy volumes of water being pushed through at high speed and adjusting to the sudden spikes in pressure when turned off, your fixtures and appliances are likely to degrade at a faster rate than usual.
Seals, mechanisms, and other components of this equipment get put through a lot of strain. You will probably need to perform maintenance more frequently, since there will regularly be something that has started to fall apart.
Professional Water Pressure Adjustment in Indianapolis
Avoiding the problems described above can be done by keeping your water pressure below 80 psi. Correcting too-high water pressure will require the help of a professional who knows how to achieve just the right balance. They will be able to install a water pressure regulator, which controls the pressure of your water as soon as it enters your plumbing system’s main line.
But performing this fix shouldn’t be the end of the story. If you’ve had excessive water pressure in your home, it’s important to have a plumber do a full inspection of your system before they leave. They may identify damage that you had yet to notice, and can save it from becoming a bigger problem down the road.
Hamm & Sons Inc. has been helping Indianapolis residents fix their plumbing problems since 1984. We offer prompt, competent service that takes care of issues the first time, giving ultimate peace of mind.
