Low Water Pressure at Home? Common Causes and Fixes

Weak shower, slow-filling bath, taps that trickle? Low water pressure has a handful of usual causes, and the first job is working out which one you've got. The quickest way is to ask: is it everywhere, or just one tap?

If it's just one tap or shower

• Limescale in the shower head or tap aerator. Unscrew the shower head or the little mesh at the end of the tap and soak it in white vinegar or descaler for an hour. It's more common in harder-water areas like parts of Fulwood, but it builds up everywhere eventually.
• A half-closed isolation valve. Check the small screw-slot valve on the pipe feeding that tap. The slot should run along the pipe when it's fully open.
• A failing shower valve or mixer cartridge — common on older thermostatic showers.

If it's the whole house

• Check with neighbours. If they're affected too, it's likely a supply issue. United Utilities posts known problems in the area on its website — Preston and Leyland have both had supply faults in the past.
• Is the stopcock fully open? After a repair, it's easy to leave it part-closed. Find it (here's where to look) and open it fully.
• A hidden leak. Unexplained damp patches, a meter that keeps turning with everything off, or a hissing sound can all point to a leak somewhere between the street and your taps.
• Old pipework. Older homes sometimes still have narrow lead or galvanised pipes that have furred up inside. Replacing the main supply pipe can transform the pressure.

Is it the hot water only?

With a combi boiler, hot water flow is limited by the boiler's flow rate — run two taps at once and both will slow. That's normal. But if hot water flow has dropped recently, the boiler's heat exchanger or a filter may be scaling up or blocked. With a cylinder system, low hot pressure is often down to the cylinder's design; an unvented cylinder can give mains-pressure hot water.

Is it the boiler pressure?

Different thing entirely. The pressure gauge on your boiler measures the heating system, not the taps. If that's dropping, see boiler losing pressure.

When to call us

If you've cleaned the outlets, checked the valves and the neighbours are fine, the cause is likely inside your pipework or appliances. We can trace it and fix it properly. We cover Preston and the surrounding areas from Bamber Bridge — call 07949 075721 or use the form below.