The pressure in all downstairs sinks, showers, toilets are wonderful. The pressure upstairs for the sinks, showers, toilets and washer has dwindled down to about half of what it used to be. This has happened over time. Its just something that I noticed and so did the family. I called the water co. and they checked it out and said water is ok for their line. The inside I would need to have checked by a plumber. We don't have those funds so I am looking for logical answers as to what might be happening to stop pressure in all the ones upstairs. HELP! I don't have any one else to help.
Thanks signed Short showers!

Short Showers, March 2011

You did not differentiate between hot and cold? Is it just the hot , just the cold or both? Do you have a combi boiler or is there a hot water cylinder? These might give clues. As one of the respondents said if mains pressure has dropped from 3 bar to 2 bar, the water authority might say that was acceptable - however this could mean only 1 bar upstairs when it was 2 bar before and 2 bar downstairs when it was 3 before, a smaller percentage drop for downstairs and not as noticeable and still twice the upstairs pressure (this simplifies matters as theoretically with 3m between floors there should be only 0.3 bar pressure difference between floors. I doubt that this affects you but my flat was built in the 1960s and the lid of the loft water tank was just a sheet of chipboard. This eventually fell to pieces and clogged up the hot water pipes. I had to dismantle a stud wall to get at this tank eventually but a short term remedy was to put a garden hose on mains pressure and put the other end against a hot tap which cleared the blockage back into the water tank. This probably would not work on a combi but VERY few combis are run off a tank as they usually need at least 1bar

PaulH, March 2011

First of all identify which appliances are fed from the tank and which are direct off the mains. It may be that the downstairs items are directly connected to the incoming service pipe and that's why they have higher pressure. Check by turning off the stopcock or the shut-off valve in the meter box, if there is one and see if any of those downstairs items are now off. Only the kitchen sink cold water tap should be connected directly to the service.

How many people are living in the house? If you have a big family which warrants having showers upstairs and downstairs, then maybe what you're seeing is poor flow rather than poor pressure. If there is high occupancy and several taps, showers etc are running at once, you will get poorer flowrates at all of them.
Check for a partial blockage at the outlet of the cold water storage tank in the attic - something like a dead mouse for example!

J, March 2011

Couple of thoughts although you seem to covered one
any new housing developments near you? the more there are on your water mains the lower the water pressure.
Have you checked to see how the pressure is late at night/very early morning (when mains water is not being used by the rest of the street)


Assuming you have a cold water tank in the loft then the head of water for downstairs will be good however for upstairs it will be less .

Might be worth looking in the cold water tank and see if its chaulked up or the outlet is obstructed

M, March 2011