I live in the country.
No cable tv, no garbage pick up, no sewage service and no city water coming to this house.
Which means I have satellite tv, I haul off my trash to our local convenience center, we have a septic system and our own well.
But we do live in modern times…..we don’t haul our water up with a bucket, we have a submersible pump with a pressurized system that brings it up with the power of electricity.
A few months ago, we lost all water pressure. Fearing the worst, that our fifteen year old submersible pump had went out, we began to investigate and found that it was only our pressure switch that had failed.
Whew!
But we had never replaced one before. With the advice and instruction of a friend, off we went to our local home improvement store to purchase one.
Once home again, we replaced it. But we didn’t have as much water pressure as before.
Although the pressure guage read that we had 85 lbs. of pressure. Now, anyone who has a well pump knows this is way too much pressure. And knowing we had lost pressure, we knew there was something wrong.
Under the instruction of our friend, he suggested we replace our guage, find out what the real water pressure was and then turn up the pressure switch to a desired water pressure.
This was done this past weekend. Yes, we have lived with low water pressure for months now. And I have had the pressure guage in my possession for months. We just haven’t had the time to replace it. And were half afraid we would cause more problems by attempting to replace it.
That’s just the way things are around here, we replace one thing only to find we have created one or more problems.
Frustrating is the least descriptive adjective I can use to describe our adventures around here.
But….
that was not the case this time. We replaced the pressure guage, turned up the pressure and once again enjoyed full water pressure.
Except at the kitchen sink.
We still had little water pressure. It takes about 10 minutes for the hot water to reach the kitchen. (No, I am not exaggerating.) When we needed hot water in the kitchen, we turned on the faucet and walked away.
The faucet is only a few years old and has never had the greatest pressure.
So The Captain and I decided that since the newly pressurized water system hadn’t fixed the faucet, it must be the faucet itself. We began disassebling the faucet.
Aside from the filter screen at the end of the water spout, we found another one at the base of the water spout. We removed it and reassembled the water faucet.
Hallelujah!
I have water pressure!
I don’t think I have ever had this much water pressure in my kitchen.
Everytime we leave the house, I come back inside and check to make sure I still have water pressure. And it is not a dream. I yell through the house,”it’s still working”or “we still have water pressure in the kitchen”.
The Captain snickers and says, “Did you think it wouldn’t be?”
So, if you think you should have more water pressure in your faucet, before running out and buying a new one, take it apart and check to see if there is another filter in there.
No more waiting ten minutes for hot water. No more waiting for a pitcher to fill with water, forgetting it was filling because it took so long to fill that my attention was taken by something else, returning to find that the pitcher had ran over and diluted the tea I just made. Forcing me to make another pitcher of tea.
I think I have just found an extra 45 minutes per day. Time that I won’t be waiting for the hot water or rinsing and rerinsing cause it takes so long to get the soap off the dishes I washed that don’t go in the dishwasher.
I don’t remember having EXTRA time before.
Tell me….what do I do with it?
Twisted Fencepost 
This sounds like crazy stuff that happens at our farm. We have low water pressure and if it is suspiciously low everyone asks, “Is the cow water on?” Meaning is the water on at the barn! We have a newer ordinance in our county that each address, no matter how far out, has to have garbage pick up. So, we have to drive our trash out to the end of our country road for weekly pick up.
Read a book. Start a craft project. Or simply go outside and set for a time watching all the wildlife.
Where we use to live, we also had our own well, pump and etc. It’s a real pain when the electric goes off, you can’t even flush the toilet, since it can’t refill with water. And sometimes after the eletric had been off, we had to prime the electric pump to get it restarted. Thank goodness it was under a trap door in our utility room. So we made sure there was always water in the frig and tea kettle.
I can associate with this post like you would not believe!
We have a low water table and have burned up 3 well pump motors in the past 5 years. We have learned how to replace the motor ourselves. What a nasty job when you are dealing with rust and lime buildup.
And yes, after the water is back on, you often have to pull off the aerators, clean them to get the water pressure back up.
And, isn’t it a grand feeling when you have water again?
Yes!
Same here. Country life…ain’t it grand!! I have no pressure in my kitchen either. I will make Rico do this first thing in the morning….as I am not mechanically inclined. LOL!
I hate low water pressure too. When we stay at my in laws-it’s like taking a shower in a dribble : ) Glad you got it all fixed!
OMG. Water pressure is one of biggest fears…losing it that it. We have a really good well….55 gpm but I don’t know how long you lasted.
Becky: We city folk are spoiled with water at our finger tips.
If you keep on writing like this you will become an author and people will start to pay you to write. Won’t that be wonderful. It is nice to get a check for stories I write. You are good enough. Try out for a local newspaper and do it for free. Get some experience. Then go to the local magazines or to national ones. I started with state publications. Anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed this post. I have been there and done these kinds of things. We began with a privy and a deep well hand pump. Know all about septic tanks and water pressure and the stuff that comes up out of the well. LOL
Well, I guess you could become a writer and we could help each other with our stories. Glad you have water pressure.
ENJOY IT! How wonderful to love the simple pleasures of a good life.
I never know what to do with extra time, so I always waste it. This is funny though. I love that you keep checking it to make sure the pressure is still there!