Why is my water pressure so high?

For most Central Florida homes, a healthy water pressure reading is somewhere around 55 to 60 psi. Once pressure climbs past 75 psi, it starts doing real damage: supply lines and fittings wear out faster, water heaters and appliances take constant stress, and small leaks turn into big ones.

The tricky part is that high pressure usually feels like a good thing. Strong showers and fast-filling sinks are nice, so most homeowners don't realize anything is wrong until a pipe, valve or appliance fails early.

In most cases, high pressure comes straight from the municipal supply. Cities keep pressure high enough to serve every home and fire hydrant on the system, and that pressure can be far more than a house is built to handle. Rapid growth in areas like Clermont, Minneola and Groveland means newer infrastructure and, often, higher supply pressure.

That's why many homes have a pressure reducing valve, often called a PRV, installed where the water line enters the house. It steps the city pressure down to a safe level. Like any mechanical part, PRVs wear out, and when one fails, pressure creeps right back up.

A few things we see over and over in homes with high pressure:

An inexpensive pressure gauge from any hardware store screws onto an outside hose bib and gives you a reading in seconds. Test it in the morning before much water has been used. If it reads above 75 psi, or the needle climbs on its own while everything is off, your PRV is likely failing or missing entirely.

If your pressure reads high, the fix is usually straightforward: test the system properly, then adjust or replace the pressure reducing valve. It's a small job compared to the repipe, water heater or appliance replacement that untreated high pressure eventually causes. We test, install and replace PRVs across Lake County and the surrounding area, and we can check your pressure as part of any service call.