Low water pressure in Reading: causes and fixes

A weak shower or a kitchen tap that takes an age to fill a pan is frustrating, but the cause is often simple. The key question is whether the problem is in your home or in the water network, because that decides who fixes it and who pays.

Is it just your home or the whole street?

Ask a neighbour whether their water is weak too, and check whether Thames Water, which supplies Reading, is reporting a burst or works in your area. If the whole street is affected, it's almost certainly a network problem, such as a burst main or high demand, and Thames Water needs to fix it. If it's only your home, the cause is more likely on your side of the boundary.

What water pressure should you get?

Water companies work to standards set by the regulator Ofwat. The Consumer Council for Water explains that the reference level is a minimum pressure of 7 metres static head, about 0.7 bar, in the communication pipe that serves your property. Companies also plan to deliver at least 10 metres head, about 1 bar, at your outside stop valve with water flowing at 9 litres a minute.

Under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme, you may be due a payment if your pressure falls below 0.7 bar on two occasions, each lasting more than an hour, within 28 days. These rules don't apply to problems caused by your own pipes.

Common causes of low water pressure at home

• A stop valve that's partly closed, often after other work or after someone turned it off and not all the way back on.
• A leak on your supply pipe, which loses water before it reaches your taps.
• An old, narrow lead or iron supply pipe, sometimes furred up inside.
• Limescale in shower heads, tap aerators and valves. Reading's very hard water makes this common.
• A blocked or partly closed isolation valve on the pipe to one tap, toilet or shower.
• Frozen pipes in very cold weather.
• A gravity-fed system, where hot water comes from a cylinder fed by a loft tank. Pressure upstairs is naturally lower because the tank isn't far above the taps.

Checks you can do yourself

1. Find your inside stop valve, usually under the kitchen sink, and check it's fully open. Turn it anticlockwise gently. Don't force a stiff valve.
2. Check whether the problem is hot, cold or both. Low pressure on hot only points to the hot water system rather than the mains.
3. Check whether it's one tap or all of them. One tap points to a blocked aerator or isolation valve.
4. Unscrew and clean tap aerators and shower heads, soaking them in descaler or diluted white vinegar.
5. Check your water meter for a leak: turn everything off, read the meter, wait 30 minutes and read it again. If it has moved, water is escaping.

When to call a plumber

• The stop valve is stuck, leaking or won't open fully.
• Your meter shows a leak but you can't find it.
• Pressure is low throughout the house and your neighbours are fine.
• Low pressure is stopping a combi boiler or electric shower from working properly.
• You want to improve pressure on a gravity-fed system.

Can a plumber increase water pressure?

Often, yes. Options include replacing an old or narrow supply pipe with modern plastic pipe, clearing or replacing scaled valves, fitting a shower pump on a gravity-fed system, or adding a storage accumulator. Some pumps can't be connected straight to the mains without the water company's consent, and all work must meet the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. An approved plumber, such as a WaterSafe member, will know what's allowed.

Before paying for a pump or accumulator, ask the plumber to measure your incoming flow and pressure. The right fix depends on whether the problem is pressure, flow, or both.