Ask an Expert

Pump it up: Low water pressure blues

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By Teri Karush Rogers  |
June 2, 2009 - 2:37PM
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Q.  What can I do about the low water pressure in my bathroom and kitchen?

A:  If you live in an older building, your pipes may be choking on sediment or corrosion. They may need to be cleaned or replaced.  But that problem usually doesn't occur in multiple locations in the same apartment.

“If it’s all throughout your apartment, it could be a building problem, especially on the higher floors,” says Phil Kraus, the president of Fred Smith Plumbing & Heating Company, which services around 850 Manhattan co-op and condo buildings.  “You may need a booster pump to boost up the pressure.  It’s usually installed on the main line, and it can run from $3,000 - $50,000 depending on how big the building is and how complex a system you want.”

The plumbing expert lays out the A's to Z's of water pressure in an article in this month's Cooperator.

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Teri Karush Rogers

Founder & Publisher

Founder and publisher Teri Karush Rogers launched Brick Underground in 2009. As a freelance journalist, she had previously covered New York City real estate for The New York Times. Teri has been featured as an expert on New York City residential real estate by The New York Times, New York Daily News, amNew York, NBC Nightly News, The Real Deal, Business Insider, the Huffington Post, and NY1 News, among others. Teri earned a BA in journalism and a law degree from New York University.

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