"Pressure regulators are underrated too, wish I'd installed mine sooner."
Yeah, pressure regulators really don't get enough attention. I remember when I first moved into my place, the water pressure was crazy high—felt great in the shower but kept me up at night wondering if my old pipes could handle it. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me and I installed one. Honestly, I was surprised how straightforward it was. Now I'm wondering, does anyone know if there's a recommended setting or PSI that's best for older plumbing? Mine's hovering around 55 PSI, but I'm never quite sure...
55 PSI sounds pretty reasonable to me, but honestly, I think the whole "ideal PSI" thing can be a bit overrated. I mean, sure, you don't want your pipes bursting from crazy high pressure, but I've lived in a couple of older houses where the plumbing was ancient and the pressure was always around 65-70 PSI. Never had an issue. Maybe I was just lucky, or maybe those old pipes were tougher than they looked!
Funny story though—my brother-in-law is obsessed with plumbing hacks and gadgets. He installed a pressure regulator at his place and dialed it way down to like 40 PSI because he was paranoid about leaks. Let me tell you, washing dishes at his house was like trying to rinse shampoo out of your hair with a squirt gun. Took forever. Eventually, even he admitted it was ridiculous and bumped it back up.
I guess what I'm saying is, there's probably a sweet spot somewhere between "firehose" and "sad trickle," but I wouldn't stress too much about hitting an exact number. If your showers feel good and your faucets aren't dripping or screaming at you, you're probably fine. And if your pipes have survived this long without exploding, they're probably tougher than you think.
I've had similar experiences with older plumbing—my grandparents' house had pressure around 70 PSI for decades, and nothing ever burst. But one thing I've noticed is that water hardness seems to make a bigger difference than pressure alone. Hard water buildup can really mess things up over time, even at moderate pressures. Ever tried any hacks or gadgets to deal with hard water? I've been debating whether those magnetic softeners actually do anything...
You're spot-on about hard water being a bigger culprit than pressure alone. I've tried those magnetic softeners myself—honestly, didn't notice much difference. Ended up installing a proper salt-based softener, and it's been night and day... pipes and fixtures look way better now.
- Salt-based softeners definitely work, but I'm curious—anyone considered the environmental impact of all that salt discharge?
- I've been looking into template-assisted crystallization (TAC) systems... supposedly effective and eco-friendlier. Wonder if anyone here's tried them yet?
