We’ve never heard a customer complain about their water pressure is too high. Everyone likes a high water pressure shower. In fact, most complaints are that water pressure isn’t high enough for their liking. So why in the world did someone invent water pressure-reducing valves? What does it do and why might you need one? Here are a couple of reasons why you might need a pressure-reducing valve and how they can save you money and stress.
PROTECT YOUR EXPENSIVE APPLIANCES
The plumbing code requires new homes to be built with water pressure between 60psi and 80psi. As a result, manufacturers of dishwashers, water heaters, faucets, and clothes washers build their products to work within this water pressure range.
High water pressure will reduce the life of the appliance by wearing down the rubber gaskets and washers at hose connections. High water pressure also creates excess and strain on internal components engineered to operate at lower water pressures.
Sometimes the damage presents itself as a repairable leak, but too often you’ll notice it at total equipment failure. This will result in the replacement of the destroyed equipment. Pressure-reducing valves are one way we can solve this problem.
WATER CONSERVATION = MONEY CONSERVATION
The difference between 120psi versus 60psi is approximately 1/3 less water usage for the same amount of run time. For many uses, such as showering or dishwashing in a kitchen sink, the majority of the water goes unused down the drain. A family of four uses an average of 80 gallons of water to bathe daily (www.watts.com). This means high water pressure could cause you to be wasting over 26 gallons of water every day! Pressure-reducing valves reduce the amount of wasted water.
If water consumption could be reduced by 1/3, that family could reduce their water usage by over 26 gallons per day, 168 gallons per week, and an astonishing 8,736 gallons per year! If you extend that math to all areas of water consumption that’s a lot of water you don’t use and you don’t have to pay for. An average family could save over $100 per year – and maybe even more if they have teenagers!
AVOID LEAKS, BURSTS, AND FLOODING!
High water pressure can wear out rubber parts in appliances, High water pressure can also accelerate the thinning of pipes through a phenomenon called erosion-corrosion. In over-pressured systems, you’ll begin to see pinhole leaks in the seemingly good pipes. What you can’t see is that when your water is turned on and off with toilet flushes, faucets, etc the water is rushing past uneven parts of the pipe and eating away at the pipe.
If you find one pinhole leak, there is likely to be multiple other leaks waiting to reveal themselves. In freezing, weather areas of thinned pipe walls are the path of least resistance and are locations of pipe bursts. Unfortunately, the repair option for thinned piping is a full water system re-pipe. Pressure-reducing valves can minimize damage to your appliances and pipes.
HOW ROCKET ROOTER CAN HELP
Before leaving a residence we perform the following complimentary 3-point inspection for every customer:
- First, we check the water pressure. We’ll verify that building water pressure is between 60 and 80 psi. If the water pressure being delivered to your house is too high, we can install a pressure-reducing valve to address the problem.
- Second, we’ll check your drains and fixtures. If there are slow drains or deteriorating fixtures, we’ll identify them so you can prevent a problem in the future.
- Third, we’ll inspect your water heater and thermal expansion tank. We’ll check the age, condition, and code compliance of your water heater and thermal expansion tank system.
When our technician performs a water pressure check, we’ll let you know if the incoming pressure is too high. We can then install a pressure reduction valve that will extend the life of your appliances, conserve up to a third of your water, and help prevent leaks, bursts, and floods!