Water pressure loss when using washing machine


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Old 09-19-14, 08:07 AM
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Water pressure loss when using washing machine

Just bought our first house about four months ago. When we did the inspection the inspector noted poor water pressure upstairs. (At that time he did have the washing machine filling.) It was supposed to be fixed before final walk through. When doing the walk through the water pressure seemed fine (washing machine was not filling). The washing machine is located in the basement. We are on city water.

The water pressure in the rest of the house drops to a dribble when we do laundry. When not using the washing machine the water pressure is normal. Any idea why or how to fix? TIA!
 
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Old 09-22-14, 07:56 PM
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Do you have a Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV)? It would be a brass colored device near your meter. That would be my first guess as it may be mis-adjusted or could have gone bad.
 
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Old 09-25-14, 04:08 PM
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Could be a water volume issue such as undersized water pipes also. Washer supplies have a much bigger opening than a regular sink faucet. Newer houses are usually PEX pipe these days and most pex pipe and fittings are significantly smaller than copper when you look at the actual inside diameter. I always oversize water lines when running PEX.
 
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Old 10-03-14, 12:14 PM
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I'll check for the PRV. I have no idea if we do or not. I'll ask my husband about the type of pipes we have also. Thanks for some recommendations to look for!
 
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Old 10-03-14, 04:49 PM
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City or well water?
Most likely it's undersized plumbing.
Not a thing you can do about it without replacing the lines.
A 3/4 line will have almost twice the flow of a 1/2 line.
I've learned to deal with it, if someone doing laundry, wait to take a shower.
 
 

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