Water pipe that carries that water to your house from the water meter can be made out of all different types of material. Depending on when your water line was installed, depending on where you are located, different cities regulations; these and more are all factors in what your water pipe material is.
Depending on the material, there are different PSI (pressure per square inch) ratings for each pipe. A very common water pipe that we encounter is a black polyethylene water pipe. It comes in three different ratings, 100psi, 160psi and 200psi. That means that they pipe is rated for water pressure coming into your house at those psi measurements. When we install new water lines, we install 200psi polyethylene for our customers. It has a good pressure rating as well as it having thicker wall that will help the line stay a little more protected underground.
The water that your water system provides to you comes in a myriad of pressure ratings, anywhere from 20 psi to 160psi. Where you actually want your pressure coming into your home is not much over 70psi. It is hard for the water supply systems to keep your pressure right around that number because of the number of customers they are serving. Most appliances and fixtures in your home or business want the pressure right around 70psi and more pressure than that might cause damage to them. You can test your own water pressure by buying a pressure gage and putting it on an outside water faucet (like the picture below) and turn on the water. This will show you your water pressure.
How do you fix the problem of excess pressure? You can install a PRV (pressure reducing valve) installed. This valve reduces your water pressure. Ideally you would have it installed at the water meter (on the customers side) because this would help regulate the pressure for the entire plumbing system. If you have it installed inside the home (sometimes this is your best option), it will only protect your indoor plumbing.
Contact us today if you think you have high water pressure and would like us to install a PRV for you today.
Call us: 206-686-9300