If
you live in a home equipped with a well, then you may have taken the
good water pressure in your home for granted until it diminished. Low
water pressure can lead to showers that take longer and don't feel as
refreshing, washing machines that take seemingly forever to fill up,
and that chore of hand-washing dishes taking much longer than it used
to.
You
may not immediately know the cause of sudden low water pressure in a
home equipped with a well. Read on to learn about four common causes
of this sudden decline in pressure.
1.
Clogged Sediment Filter
If
your well is equipped with a sediment filter, as most are, then the
key to why your home's water pressure suddenly dropped could be as
simple as a clogged sediment filter. While how quickly your filter
becomes clogged depends highly on the quality of your well water, a
good rule of thumb is to change it every six months to not only
maintain maximum water pressure, but also keep your water clean.
However,
some well owners need to change these filters as often as every three
months, depending on local water quality.
To
make determining when to change your filter easier, add a pressure
gauge to your water filtration system and change the filter when
there is a loss of pressure of about 10 Pounds Per Square Inch (PSI).
2.
Pump Pressure Switch Problems
Another
problem that can cause a reduction in home water pressure is a bad
pump pressure switch. This switch is located in your well's pressure
tank, and it sends a signal to the well pump to increase the pressure
in your tank when it drops below a predesignated PSI, which is
typically 40 PSI.
Most
pump pressure switches have an internal spring. Some pressure
switches go bad when this spring weakens. The electrical components
that most pressure switches are equipped with can also malfunction.
However,
even if your pressure switch is still in great shape, it could simply
need to be readjusted to activate the well pump before water pressure
in the home gets too low.
3.
Air Bladder Needs Recharged
If
you have a bladder pressure tank, then the reduction in your home's
water pressure could be due to a problem with your pressure tank's
air bladder.
This
air bladder helps increase pressure in your tank by exerting force
against the water in the tank. If the air bladder is under-inflated,
then it is not exerting enough pressure against the tank water to
keep the water pressure in your home high.
Thankfully,
an under-inflated air bladder often simply needs air added to it to
help increase a home's water pressure. Well professionals call adding
air to an air bladder an air bladder recharge, and they frequently
perform this service for well owners.
4.
Wrong Pump Type
You
have many types of water well pumps to choose from, and some
consistently provide better water pressure than others. If you have a
standard pressure well pump, then you may notice that your water
pressure fluctuates throughout the day. You will likely desire the
consistently high water pressure that a constant pressure, or
variable speed, pump provides.
While
a standard pressure pump typically activates when water pressure in a
pressure tank drops by as many as 20 PSI, constant pressure pumps
turn on to increase the water pressure in your well system when water
pressure drops as little as 5 PSI.
If
the water pressure in your home has dropped, then you can have your
great water pressure back after a well professional finds the cause
of the problem. Reach out to the well professionals at Action
Well and Pump for a well
inspection and expert repair
today.
