Tips for fixing low water pressure in an outdoor faucet
Check your garden hose 'If water pressure is strong from the faucet after disconnecting the hose, then the hose is your problem,' explains Ismael Partida. 'You can also double check the hose by connecting it to a different faucet. ' Is the faucet broken?
Test the flow.
Open the spigot to full blast and check the gauge. If the reading lands between 40 and 80 psi, the water pressure meets building codes. Still, the best reading is between 45 and 65 psi.
Check your garden tap
If it's only the garden tap that is suffering from low pressure, and the pressure in the kitchen is sufficient, then it's possible that there could be a slight blockage in the pipework leading to the tap or the garden tap itself.
The Turbo Jet is an amazing, all-new spray nozzle attachment that turns your ordinary water hose into a high-pressure power washer. Bulky pressure washers are expensive, heavy and use gas or electricity. The Turbo Jet's clever design uses a controlled flow to build a powerful jet stream right from your garden hose.
A pump might be necessary to increase residential water pressure, but there are other things you can try before buying a pump. For one, tracking down leaks in the system could be a solution. Also, opening a half-shut supply valve that could otherwise reduce flow would do the trick.
Light-duty hoses may have a rating of around 200 PSI. Heavier-duty garden hoses can feature ratings up to 600 PSI. A lower rating is suitable for most use around the home and yard. Typical residential water pressure is around 45 to 80 PSI.
A fast drop in only one faucet means there's a problem with the faucet. Rapid low pressure affecting one area of the house may mean a corroded pipe issue. An abrupt water pressure drop affecting the whole house may mean a water main break (municipal water) or a well pump problem (well water).
Standard models of outdoor faucets can last 10 to 20 years.
A hose bib, opened fully, will allow 8–10 gpm of flow with a house water pressure of 50–60 psi (typical for municipal water systems and on the high end of domestic wells). With 50 or 100 feet of garden hose of 5/8” attached, the flow rate will be around 6 gpm.
Faucets become hard to turn due to the buildup of mineral deposits or problems related to the faucet's cartridge.
The good news is that you can easily replace faucet aerators, clean showerheads to remove limescale, or simply buy new fixtures to replace the defective ones, which can improve your water pressure. However, it is important to know that repairing or replacing faucets and fixtures is only a temporary solution.
Use a special hose attachment
Turning your garden hose into a pressure washer using an attachment is possible, but it won't be as powerful as the real deal. Still, as long as you have decent water pressure to begin with, it will significantly increase what you've got.
What difference does hose diameter make? The diameter of your garden hose affects the water flow rate and pressure. Larger hoses will provide more water volume (gallons per minute) than smaller ones, but with less pressure.
The Science of Hose Lengths
For instance, on a 3/8-inch hose with a 3 gallon/minute flow, the loss of pressure per 100 feet is about 50 PSI. When you consider that pressure washers often operate at 3,000 to 5,000 PSI, that's a fairly negligible loss for the increased distance.
Residential water pressure tends to range between 45 and 80 psi (pounds per square inch). Anything below 40 psi is considered low and anything below 30 psi is considered too low; the minimum pressure required by most codes is 20 psi. Pressures above 80 psi are too high.
If you notice any low pressure taps, remove their washers as they may need thoroughly cleaning or replacing. This could help you regain a much improved water pressure flow. Fixtures themselves may even get clogged over time. Before removing any fixtures make sure to turn off the water supply first.
Find the spigot closest to your source of water. Make sure all the taps and other water uses are turned off in your house. Now turn on the spigot and see how long it takes to fill the bucket. Dividing the number 60 by the time to fill the bucket will give you the gallons per minute number.
Pressure washer hoses are specialized components used for cleaning in a variety of commercial industries. They can withstand high pressures between 3,000 PSI and 6,000 PSI, and they're built to handle extreme temperatures ranging from -40 C to 135 C.