Shower Water Pressure

Donna Bunai has a few complaints about the water pressure inside her shower. She lives in Shirley, New York.

"I have a problem with the water coming out of my shower. It used to be perfect, no problems.  We had all new plumbing done about a year a go. Now the water comes out normal but then drops down to a sprinkle .

We ripped the wall off behind the shower and it is bone dry.

We have one knob for the hot and cold water and when you pull the pin on the faucet you have to pull hard to get some pressure and there's no water that comes out of that faucet."

Donna, I've been a master plumber for about thirty-five years and your problem is directly related to small pieces of sediment that are blocking the tiny pathways water has to flow through in the faucet body.

Since it's a one-handled shower, you have a cartridge in the valve body. I'd remove it and look for small pieces of sand-like material blocking any of the orifices.

You can also choose just to install a new cartridge and not try to clean your existing one.

There's a possibility that sediment is clogging the water restriction disc at the base of the shower head. Many people, frustrated with the Federal Government trying to rule every aspect of their lives, remove this plastic disc so they get great water flow.