Low showerhead pressure

Hi,

First post and extreeeeemely beginner question.

I'm a long-term renter and take care of most everything I'm capable of in the apartment. My landlord and I have tried to figure out why my shower pressure has dropped so significantly; so much so that, even though I purchased a high-pressure showerhead (and this is the third one I've tried), the spray pressure isn't even enough to engage all the spray holes.

We had a plumber in who said he fixed it. But, he said he fixed a lot of things in the bathroom (started with the toilet seal), and didn't even finish re-sealing the toilet, and couldn't explain what he did to "fix" the shower pressure. Which wasn't fixed.

Pressure in sink and tub faucet are fine. There's minimal waste when pulling the shower diverter, and then the low pressure. I hate wasting precious water, especially since my landlords are paying for it.

My bathroom is the first stop from the main, and pushing that any higher I don't believe is an option.

I just replaced the showerhead, and noticed, in the shower arm, a large rubber ring inside, leaving possibly less than 1/4 inch opening. I removed the flow regulator from the showerhead, and am wondering if I can remove this too. I don't know why I never noticed it before.

So, question: can I remove that rubber ring from inside the shower arm? It looks like this (not the best illustration, but hopefully you'll get the idea):



Thanks!

Give it a shot. You could also get a new piece that doesn't have the restrictor in it.

That is just a washer that was supposed the seal the head from leaking with out having to use tape. It just got pushed into the end of the arm. get rid of it.
how much volume do you get with out any head on the arm?
how do you divert the water from tub to shower? diverter tub spout or a diverter built into valve, or a 3 handle valve.

If you have lower volume of water at open arm, you may have a restriction in the valve.

Nothing should be in that shower arm. Somehow it got stuck in there. Take it out and run the water with out the shower head like Mr David said. You should have good flow. If not let us know.