Upstairs Cold Water Pressure

[Old_Geezer]

Over the last few days I've been getting a problem with the upstairs, over the bath, mixer tap shower.

Normally I have both the hot and cold taps just shy of the mid position, but lately I've been having to turn the hot down and the cold right up. So dramatic is the difference that I've been mulling over calling the water board and asking if the pressure has been lowered in the area.

Well it was worse than ever this morning. Cold fully on, hot hardly on, hardly enough volume to call it a shower. Was it the mains pressure, or maybe the mixer tap has failed somehow ?

I've just done a small investigation. The kitchen cold tap seems ok, but there again, would I notice ? It is, what, 10 or 12 foot nearer the ground.

I turned on the bathroom basin cold tap and for a while it also seemed fine, but then, for no obvious reason, it suddenly reduced in flow too. I suspect this is probably the same thing that is happening at the bath.

I've not done anything that I can think would cause an upstairs problem recently.

Any thoughts on the possible issue, why it has gone wrong, and what can be done to fix it ? If it gets any worse I'll have to switch to having baths instead. And eventually soaking in the kitchen sink maybe.

TIA

[Togo]

Geezer do you know if the cold supply upstairs is fed from a tank or directly from the rising main? Some systems do have a cold tank in the roof space to feed upstairs supplies,and you could have a blockage from the tank to the bathroom in supply pipework.

[Togo]

You could check by switching off the stop tap and see if you still get the reduced flow to the bathroom area whilst the downstairs is off. If you still get supply for a while(until tank is dry), it would indicate tank fed supply to upstairs, if the bathroom supply goes off, with the stop tap off, it is mains fed like the kitchen.

[gingejbee]

Call the water board? Good luck with that.....42 years too late!

[gingejbee]

....you could check with a neighbour (if you have any you get on with) to see if their mains pressure is good/fair/bad...one way of eliminating a possible cause.

[Old_Geezer]

There is a cold tank in the loft but I was under the impression it simply fed the hot tank on the first floor, and the upstairs cold was direct to the mains. However I have just taken a stopcock key out to the outside stopcock, turned it off, and checked. The kitchen sink was immediately at a dribble, but upstairs the taps continued to run, so I can only assume they are also fed from that loft tank.

[Old_Geezer]

Ah 3 replies since I started mine and went to try it out mid-type. :-)

[Old_Geezer]

The board is Thames Water around here.

Any suggested cures ? Maybe if I ran a hose from downstairs to up I could blow and blockage out ? How would it get a block anyway ?

[Togo]

Right you are going to need to check if debris has been able to enter the tank and somehow restrict the flow to your bathroom supply. Bit of Fawlty Towers Geezer, piggyon.

[Old_Geezer]

I'll check the loft then. The tank has this loose placed over cover on it if I recall correctly. Clearly didn't come with the tank. Cheers.

[Togo]

Make sure that you empty the tank before trying any such cure Geezer. Yo also need to make sure your oiler is OFF and not liable to automatically fire up. When the tank is empty you will then need to ensure no water is feeding it when the stop cock is on. Then you could try the hose pipe cure direct from the main supply. It may be messy.

[Togo]

Bee careful up there Geezer you do not need to go at it like a bull at a gate. Safety first mate. You have all day now you have a possibly way of detecting the problem.

[Old_Geezer]

Hmmm....

The worst part is that it was only very recently I shoved a LOT of books up into the loft as I had not the space for them; with the idea that once I'm sorted in the house I can start to bring them down gradually and decide what to do with them, then. It means it is a nightmare getting to the tank. Not just for me but for anyone I tried to get in to fix anything. Awful time to get an issue.

That aside, I got to the tank (pipes tend to disappear under the boards, like on every floor) and the lid is still on. Looked inside, looked just like water, save for what I think is a cobweb, so no obvious way to get any blockage.

I'm loathe to try the hose thing if it could get messy in case the books up there get soaked somehow. Not sure I could stand that. Maybe I'll leave it for a few weeks (won't be here for one of them anyway) and see if it clears.

Cheers.

[Togo]

You could have given the pipes a bit of a hammering whilst you were up there Geezer. Also if there is a valve between the tank out flow and the upstairs piping it may be worth turning this off and on and generally beating it up.

[Old_Geezer]

Unsure about valves. There were a couple of taps but they seem to have seized up. Perhaps I'll go up again in a while and see if the lagging can cope with a hammering ;-)

[Old_Geezer]

Or are they the valves you mean ? The in line controls I mean rather than something that drips on the floor. I tend to think of valves as automatic (or electrically controlled).

[Togo]

Yes Geezer taps are valves, these will have little wheels or just the cross bar like a stop tap. Most supply tanks will have a valve to isolate the tank to enable work to be carried out without emptying the whole tank.

[Togo]

Just a thought Geezer, I don't suppose you have put half a ton of books on the water pipe and crushed it thereby restricting flow??

[Old_Geezer]

Worth the thought but unlikely. This shower issue has been around for about a week. Putting the books up was about a month ago. The books are above the floorboards, the pipes are either taken off to the side away from them, or underneath the boards. Will go up and hammer lightly after lunch.

[jennyjoan]

Would you not get a plumber - fix this in a few mos or tell you what the problem is.

Anyway is there any outside maintenance work being done elsewhere - (no you can't find them) - before you do anything ring Water Board and ask if there is work being done. Get a Plumber!

[Garaman]

If you can cover the head of the shower, say with your hand, and open both taps it might help move any debris or air trapped in the system. That works better when the cold is connected to the mains but is worth a try if it is easy to do.