There are a few concepts that are important in several areas of a given plumbing system, and one of these is that of water pressure. Many of us have experienced what it’s like to deal with low water pressure — showers that take forever, weak streams of water from the faucet, and several related conditions that are both frustrating and time-consuming.

At City Creek Plumbing, water pressure is just one of many important themes we’ll help manage for you through our diverse plumbing repair services, which include everything from simple inspections through major repairs or replacements your system might require. In this two-part blog series, we’ll go over everything you need to know about water pressure in your plumbing system — what is it, and why is it important? What are ideal pressure levels for the average home, and how can you test your water pressure levels? Let’s dive in.

Water Pressure Basics

When we talk about water pressure, we’re referring to the force with which water exits the faucet or shower head. This pressure is determined by a number of factors, including the height of the water source (in other words, how high the water is above your home’s plumbing), the size of the pipes in your plumbing system, and the amount of resistance to flow that is created by fixtures and appliances.

When it comes to reporting water pressure levels, this is done through the use of a metric called psi, or pounds per square inch. This metric can be measured using a simple gauge (more on this in part two of our series).

Importance of Knowing Your Home’s Water Pressure

While most are well aware of the primary downsides of low water pressure, it’s important to realize that pressure that’s too high will also create problems in your home’s plumbing system. High pressure can damage pipes and fittings, leading to leaks, premature failure of fixtures and appliances, and other costly repairs.

Ideally, you want to find the Goldilocks zone for water pressure in your home — not too low, not too high, but just right. Knowing your home’s water pressure is the first step in finding this sweet spot.

Ideal Water Pressure Levels

Generally speaking, most standard homes will be set to a 50 psi setup when they’re first built. Ideal home water pressure will range between 40 and 80 psi, with 50 psi as the happy medium.

If your home’s water pressure falls outside of this range, don’t worry — there are a number of solutions that we can help you with at City Creek Plumbing. In part two of our series, we’ll show you how to measure your home’s water pressure and provide some tips for how to deal with issues where it’s too high or too low.

For more on this, or to learn about any of our plumbing services, speak to our City Creek Plumbing team today.