"Guess I'll be crawling under the house this weekend, haha."
Haha, been there—nothing like a weekend spent army-crawling through cobwebs and dirt. Honestly though, pipe diameter can make a surprising difference. When we redid our upstairs bath, I upsized the lines from 1/2" to 3/4" and it was night and day. Still not hotel-level pressure, but at least the shampoo rinses out now without taking forever... Good luck down there, hope you don't find any unexpected "guests"!
"Honestly though, pipe diameter can make a surprising difference."
Definitely agree with this. Upgrading pipe size helps, but don't overlook the fittings and elbows either. Every 90-degree elbow adds friction loss, reducing your flow rate. If you're already crawling under there, might as well check for any unnecessary bends or kinks in the lines. Straightening out even one or two tight turns can noticeably boost pressure at the fixture. Good luck—hope it's a quick fix without too many spiders...
Good points on elbows, but honestly, most residential setups won't see a huge difference from straightening out one or two bends. Usually, it's old valves or clogged aerators causing pressure headaches. Might wanna check those first before crawling around under the house...
Yeah, valves and aerators are usually the culprits for sure. Had a tenant last year complaining about weak shower pressure—turned out the showerhead was just clogged with mineral buildup. Quick vinegar soak and it was good as new. Still, wouldn't totally dismiss the pipe bends thing either...had an older property once where previous owners did some DIY plumbing with way too many elbows. Pressure wasn't terrible, but after a proper plumber simplified the layout, tenants noticed a definite improvement. Nothing dramatic, but enough to justify the hassle at the time.
But honestly, 9 times out of 10 it's something simple like a valve that hasn't been fully opened after repairs or sediment clogging things up. I'd always check those first before diving into anything expensive or complicated.
Had a similar issue myself recently—spent ages checking valves and aerators, only to find out the city had dialed back water pressure temporarily for maintenance. Felt pretty silly after all that vinegar soaking and valve twisting...lesson learned: check with neighbors first before going full detective mode.
