Good reminder on the aerators—I often see folks overlook those. Have you noticed if the pressure issue happens at certain times of day or randomly? Sometimes city maintenance or nearby construction can temporarily mess with water flow, and people jump into fixing stuff that isn't actually broken. Better safe than sorry, though... plumbing headaches are no joke. Glad you found a simple fix!
I've actually found that city maintenance isn't always the culprit. Had a similar issue last year—pressure dropped randomly, no pattern at all. Turned out to be a partially closed valve near the main line. Took forever to figure out because I kept assuming it was external. Have you double-checked all your shut-off valves? Sometimes it's the simplest thing hiding right under your nose...
"Turned out to be a partially closed valve near the main line."
Good point—valves are sneaky like that. Also seen cases where old galvanized pipes were corroded internally, causing random pressure drops. Any idea how old your plumbing is?
"valves are sneaky like that."
Haha, sneaky is right. Reminds me of the time I spent half a day troubleshooting low pressure at my parents' place. Checked everything—faucets, showerheads, even crawled under the house (not fun, trust me). Turned out the culprit was a valve behind the washing machine that someone (looking at you, Dad) had partially closed and forgotten about. Classic move.
But yeah, old galvanized pipes can definitely be a headache too. My buddy's house had those, and every time someone flushed the toilet upstairs, the kitchen faucet downstairs turned into a sad little trickle. Eventually they bit the bullet and replaced them with copper—problem solved.
Anyways, plumbing mysteries are always an adventure... until they're not. Hope yours isn't too ancient!
Copper's definitely a solid upgrade, but honestly, I'd think twice before going that route nowadays. A friend of mine switched to PEX piping recently—it's cheaper, easier to install, and surprisingly durable. Plus, it's pretty resistant to freezing, which is a huge bonus if you're in a colder climate. I'm usually skeptical about newer materials, but after seeing how smoothly his installation went (and how well it's held up so far), I'd probably recommend checking it out before committing to copper.
