Who to hire for low water pressure

Short answer

A licensed plumber — but first work out whether it is one outlet or the whole house, because one outlet is usually a blocked aerator or a partly closed isolation valve and costs nothing to rule out.

Plan itThere is time to get more than one quote, which is where the money is.

When it is someone else

Calling the wrong trade costs an attendance fee to be told so. These are the cases where this problem belongs to someone other than a Plumber.

  • your water authority

    the whole street is affected or pressure dropped suddenly after works nearby. They can tell you the pressure at your meter, which is the number that decides whether the problem is theirs or yours.

What to do before anyone arrives

  1. Test hot and cold separately at the same tap. Low on hot only points at the hot water system or a tempering valve; low on both points at the supply.
  2. Unscrew the aerator on the affected tap and look at it. Grit and scale in the mesh is the single most common cause of one slow tap.
  3. Check the isolation valves under the basin and the main stop tap at the meter are fully open. A partly closed main is a very common finding after other plumbing work.
  4. Ask a neighbour. If their pressure dropped at the same time, stop and ring the water authority.

What to ask when you book

  • Will you measure the pressure and flow at the meter and at the outlet, and tell me both numbers?
  • Is there a pressure-limiting valve on this property, how old is it, and is it the fault?
  • If the problem is old galvanised pipework, what is the staged option rather than re-piping the whole house at once?

What changes the price

No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.

  • A failed pressure-limiting valve is a part and an hour. Corroded galvanised pipework is a re-pipe.
  • Whether the fix is inside the house or in the service line from the meter, which may mean excavation.
  • How much of the house has to be opened up to reach the pipework.

What you can do yourself

Is this licensed work?

Licensed plumbing work, including any change to a pressure-limiting valve or the water service.

There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.

Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.

Common questions

Who should I hire for low water pressure
A licensed plumber — but first work out whether it is one outlet or the whole house, because one outlet is usually a blocked aerator or a partly closed isolation valve and costs nothing to rule out.
Why did my pressure drop after a plumber visited?
The most common reason is a stop tap or isolation valve left partly closed. It is worth checking before you book a second visit, and worth raising with the original plumber if it is the cause — it was their valve.
Is low pressure the same as low flow?
No, and the distinction matters when you are describing it. Pressure is the force behind the water; flow is how much arrives per minute. A restriction — scale, a part-closed valve, a corroded pipe — cuts flow while the pressure behind it is unchanged, and that is the far more common household fault.

Find a Plumber near you

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Who to hire for

General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.