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I have a few questions pertaining to this topic:

  • In Miami Fl what's the mandatory minimum water pressure for an apartment? (Or where can I find this info)

  • How can I increase my water pressure at the shower and faucet outside of removing the internal filter at the heads. I have an in unit water tank. (Can I put some sort of pump on it?)

  • How can I test the water pressure in my apartment?

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  • Do your neighbors have the same issue? If not, pull the aerators & heads and make sure they aren't clogged with dirt. – uSlackr Dec 15 '16 at 20:10
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I don't know if there is an absolute minimum for your area. A pressure gauge can be installed on a kitchen faucet with a adapter to quickly check the pressure.

A few years back a family needed 120 psi for their child's medical needs. I installed a check valve on the main line and then a small booster pump and pressure tank. It was a small pump; I think it was 7gallons per minute. This provided both the pressure and flow they needed. The total cost was close to 1k for the pump tank and install. I also set it up so they could take it with them when they moved.

We had to replace several older valves that leaked due to the high pressure. Their original pressure from the city supply was just under 60. You need to be aware of the possibility of leaks with a pressure increase but you probably won't need such a high pressure.

Also we measured the flow afterwards and had much more than the pump was rated for, probably because the supply pressure to the pump was rated for a shallow well so you may not need as high a flow pump as your total demand.

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  • Unrelated to the issue Ed, but I'm very curious! Did the family explain what the condition was and why the water pressure was necessary? Thanks! – Levi Sep 11 '16 at 16:54
  • I don't remember but it was some kind of device they used for several times each day for close to 1 hour. I think they had to have 100 psi but wanted more so the machine would not alarm. – Ed Beal Sep 11 '16 at 18:19
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Not a complete answer, but a small change you can make is increasing the temperature of your water heater—especially since you live in an apartment and may have moved into a unit preset to a mild setting. This will allow you to add a greater volume of cold flow when taking a shower, which will naturally put more pressure on the shower head. The difference is minimal, but it's real...and it doesn't require any tools, equipment, or arrangements with professionals to test.

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