Water pressure in some parts of Kirkwood and other older towns can be very frustrating for those trying to bathe, water their lawn or even wash their car! In fact, some dishwashers and washing machines will not function properly due to low water pressure. This can be a combination of many things other than just the older water mains that can’t stand any more pressure without bursting. St. Louis water is considered “hard” water with more minerals in it than “softer” water often found in the southern states. Those minerals build up over time throughout the pipes in your home including the main line coming into the house and the water meter itself. Typically called calcium deposits, it’s much like the clogged arteries of someone with plaque buildup due to too much cholesterol in their system. Those deposits eventually constrict a typically sized one-half inch water line to as small as one-eighth of an inch. This can affect your entire plumbing system starting at the tap into the Water Department’s main line and running all the way to the faucets and hose bibs in your home.
Another cause for low pressure is the elevation of your home compared to the water tower connected to your main. I live on Way Avenue in Kirkwood which is one of the highest elevations in the area. Combined with the high elevation, very old water mains and very old homes with galvanized pipes full of deposits, when some of my neighbors try and water their lawn, they have to move it six times to cover an 80’x 50’ front lawn! Unfortunately, I’ve replaced all the galvanized pipes (including those pipes in the walls, not just the basement) with new ½-inch copper, increased my water main to 1 ¼-inch and replaced the meter, and it hasn’t helped my pressure much at all. It makes me wonder if our local fire department has enough pressure to effectively fight a house fire on my street and others like it.
Prior to replacing all my pipes, I installed a well pump and pressure tank that greatly improved the water pressure in my home. It worked great for showers and short bursts of water pressure. In fact my neighbors said they could tell when I was running water because their pressure would drop due to the well pump sucking the water from the main line in the street! The system was rather noisy and with the 40 gallon pressure tank, it wasn’t long before our pressure would drop off to a greatly reduced level. While trying to water the lawn, the pump would run in vain trying to catch up with the pressure gauge in the tank. Although the first few minutes of watering was very impressive, with the sprinkler arching from one end of the lawn to the other, it wasn’t long before the sprinkler would barely work back and forth due to the low pressure even with the pump working its hardest to draw water from the main and filling up the pressure tank.
There is one thing that I do at least twice yearly and more if needed. Most of the faucets in your home have an aerator that can be unscrewed right at the spout either with your hand or with a pair of pliers while protecting the finish of your faucet with a rag. Once you’ve taken the aerator off be careful to see how the interior parts are aligned so you can put them back in the same order. Some of those little parts will be clogged with the mineral deposits and can severely restrict water flow. Rinse them off (being careful not to drop them into the sink), put the aerator back together and screw it back on to the faucet. For the shower heads and faucets without easily accessed aerators, you can remove the entire head and soak it in Lime Away or CLR (Calcium, Lime and Rust) being careful to follow the instructions so as not to damage the finish. You might be amazed at how much better your water pressure will be at those points.
