Water pressure .....

G_M

itchyfeet123 wrote: »

...Some features of British housing that locals think of as a normal are considered a defect if you've come from, say, the States. Insufficient water pressure is one; having to open windows in winter to avoid condensation is another.

Do Americans not produce water vapour when they exhale, or is it because they don't cook other than using micrwaves to heat up take-aways?

Just interested.

ohreally

gillybean129 wrote: »

Sadly it appears so, however she's not the stereotypical one you describe but a highly educated Phd so whom you think would know better, alas not!

Sadly it appears you're confusing education with intelligence.

itchyfeet123

G_M wrote: »

Do Americans not produce water vapour when they exhale, or is it because they don't cook other than using micrwaves to heat up take-aways?

Just interested.

Ha, hilarious. Note the people who complain are people who have lived in both places and not changed their habits much when they moved -- the only exception I can think of is that people don't use drying racks for their clothes in the US. I knew people when I lived in the US who had to use humidifiers (as opposed to dehumidifiers which are common here and in my home land) in winters.

It's something to do with the way dwellings are built. I don't see why that's surprising, given that there's a lot of variation in how damp-prone UK buildings are. If I have 6 people in my office with non-opening windows at work with the door closed nothing happens, but if I had two people in my old flat with the windows closed, water would pour down the windows.

In some parts of the US the incentives to make a space liveable with the windows closed is probably stronger, given how extreme the winters can get.

Anyway, my point in asking where the tenant was from wasn't to denigrate British housing or put anyone on the defensive, but to suggest that the tenant could have very different experiences about what's normal. If that's the case, the OP will be able to have a more productive conversation with the tenant if s/he bears that in mind.

D_M_E

Owain Moneysaver has the answer - go and pay her a visit and make sure the stoptap is fully open then do a simple test - flush the toilet and turn on the shower and see if that has fixed the problem.

If not someone needs to check the stoptap for the entire building and make sure that is fully open.- it could have been turned off by someone doing a bit of work and not opened properly when job done.

If neither of these work then it's up to the tenant to complain to the water company about the pressure.

Fuzzyness

booksurr wrote: »

sadly you have one of "those" tenants

- tell her to move back in with her parents and get some life experience before trying to launch?

- put in writing an explanation of how water systems work and that the LL's responsibility is to do what you have done, provide a system for washing and drinking. The rest is a function of life and location.

- tell her that the "compensation culture" she has been brought up in does have common sense limits so she should jog off?

- tell her to get a boyfriend who can fill in the obvious gaps in her practical knowledge?

thats just brightened up my morning.

Rosemary7391

I've just checked, and my flat has sufficient water pressure to turn on both taps without any noticeable difference in flow. Is it a top floor flat maybe? It is quite possible to have lived in many places and not come across this sort of thing - I haven't, so unless there is an obvious reason (top floor flat, top of a hill) I'd at least mention it to the LL in case there's a leak somewhere. Unless the PhD is in fluid dynamics or some sort of experimental work involving plumbing it's unlikely to be of any relevance...

noh

There may be restricted flow in the system other than at the stopcock.
Our house has a mains pressure hot water system. As part of that system there are pressure limiters to protect the system. These can become clogged up and reduce the flow. This happened to ours a couple of years ago. The cold water flow rate in the kitchen where the supply entered was normal but the hot and cold supply to the bathrooms was restricted because of the clogged pressure limiter fitted at the input side to the cylinder.

Fuzzyness

in my home, i suffer from low flows from my taps. i called the water company out and they tested the pressure in the main in the street and confirmed that this was in fact very good. they stated the likely cause of my low flows in my house were probably due to corroded/rusted pipe between the main and where it came into my house. unfortunately as these pipes are on private land it is my responsibility to replace them if i want to increase the flow of water into my house. as its going to cost about 500 - 1,000 quid to have it done, i'll think i'll wait for the time being.