HELP - Lost water pressure to shower after turning off water to house

jpw28

I turned the water in my off house because I was going out of town for a week and didn't want a pipe to burst due to the cold weather while I was out of town. After turning the water back on, I have very little water pressure coming out of the shower head in my main bathroom. The water seems to be fine to everything else, including the shower head in the basement bathroom. The shower head that is not working is only a shower head (no lower faucet for a tub). I've tried turning the supply off and then back on again. After doing this, the shower sprays normally for a couple seconds, then goes back to very, very low pressure. I've also tried running the shower for a minute, it stays at a fast drip. Any advice given would be very appreciated.

66faces6

how old is the home and does it have galvanized supply plumbing? These pipes are usually old and corrode from the inside. Pieces can break off and clogg valves, etc and create a situation like you described.

hammer

Remove the shower head and clean out the debrs. If it has a water saver(Small round disc with tiny hole) you can remove that disc for MUCH greater pressure.

jpw28

The bathroom was remodeled roughly 5 years ago. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure about the type of plumbing. I've removed the shower head and the water is still a slow stream coming out of the pipe that comes directly out of the wall. Is there something I can do to check if the pipe is clogged? I don't have easy access to the pipes. I was hoping not to, but would it be better to call a plumber?

biggles

how cold did the house get?how/what is the nearest hot/cold water pressure in the sink in that bahroom.

jpw28

Thanks for the assistance. The pipes that lead to the shower are separate from everything else in this bathroom. The hot water pipe is about 4 feet from the outside of the house and is also near the dryer vent on the outside of the house. It turns out this pipe froze. After heating the pipe, the water flow resumed. Thanks again for the assistance.

hms

I would insulate that pipe.

moneymgmt

is it common for people to turn off their heat and water when gone for a week in the winter? I'll kick mine down around 55 but never off. My grandparents who leave Michigan for 3 months still leave it on very low also. Just something I never really thought about, made me curious...

biggles

you might want to set up so you can vent all the lines in the house especaily the ones that run inside the colder walls.if your main shut is in a basement above the shut off valve that strats the hose cold watr feed.if you added a TEE with a ball valve and pipe it over to a sink or floor drain that would be your drain off.going on a trip shut the main off...and open all your cold water faucets up above in the house...go down the basement and open up the valve off the tee and the cold water will drain down in to the sink.that would be your cold side of the house...the hot side would be the same add on but off the hot water pipe on your hot water heater something to consider.iam taking for granted you have a walk down basement and everything is right there is your climbing and crawling to shut things off just insulate your critical pipes.