I can’t figure this out so I thought I’d ask for help.
I replaced the faucet in my kitchen sink recently. It wasn’t that hard. Now the flow has significantly reduced itself. In the past this has happened and it was from a build up of crap because of hard water or something. The trick is to unscrew the nozzle and clean out the little filter thing. So I did that. But when I had the nozzle off, I realized the output was just as slow. Meanwhile, I did all the shit you’re supposed to do to reduce build up of hard water deposits (soak in vinegar, scrub out screens, etc) but I had low expectations because, like I said, the output was slow even with the nozzle off.
So now I don’t know what to do. I put the nozzle back and the faucet is still slow. I’m not really sure what to google to try to solve. Ideas? Has this happened to anyone?
I hate to call a plumber because this seems like something people do for themselves. Thanks for any thoughts!
Oh, good question about the supply valve. I checked that and they are fully open (but that is something I totally thought about). The faucet had a pair of hoses to connect to the hot and cold supply spigots (under the sink). I set it all up and it worked fine for about a month or two. The supply has never been great, especially the hot, but it was fine. It’s only in the last few week’s I’ve been asking myself (and my wife), is this getting slow? I suppose something could have kinked the lines that go to the faucet, but they’re not that long. I sort of glanced around and I didn’t see anything out of whack.
How is the water pressure coming out of the supply lines, before it goes into the faucet? :)
Just run one of the supply lines into a bucket and turn the valve on. It should shoot out the line like a jet setting on a hose. Test both lines, I mean maybe you have some sediment in the lines? I know it happens on well water, maybe it could happen on city water?
I’ve replaced a dozen faucets in my life, I’ve seen all kinds of crazy shit.
Did you water tape the faucet inlet fittings before you attached the supply lines? Did the water tape by chance cover a bit of the supply holes?
Did the supply lines that they provided have tiny filters on the ends that connect to your shut off valves? Maybe the filters got dirty?
Don’t fully open them! You should take them about 1/4 turn off the back seat, otherwise they’ll bind up with temperature changes, which can make them impossible to close, which sucks when your faucet breaks and water is spraying out of the sink.
I thought about this too. I can’t remember, but I think the next step is probably unhooking the supply lines and seeing what’s what. I guess the way to test is to do just what you said, take off the supply to the faucet and just put a bucket under the spigot to check the flow. If it’s the same as it is in the sink, then I’ll need a plumber. The house is about 50 years old and the lines last about 50 years, so maybe it’s finally just gotten bad enough to notice at the same time I replaced the kitchen faucet.
Otherwise, if the flow is good at the supply, I suppose it has something to do with the new faucet. I got that thing at Costco, so I will take it right back (with zero shame) and get one that works. :)
I think newer kitchen faucets are just lower flow. You probably bought the same ‘pull down’ faucet I got at Costco, with motion sensor. It’s pretty nice. Maybe the reason is that the ball joint that gives flexibility to the pull-down part is quite small. But at least in ‘spray’ mode, it has actual pressure for rinsing things, so overall it’s fine.
I’m sure you reached into the faucet and removed the “low flow” piece of plastic that usually comes with it, right? I have to do that will with all faucets/showerheads.
What faucet are we talking about here? Most will tell you in they have inlet filter screens, which would be the number one place to check for a clog/debris.
Yeah I don’t know what year they started putting them in but almost all faucets/showerheads, etc have flow restrictors now.
As expressed above they are usually a little piece of plastic (usually grey or white) that looks like a tiny collander with a bunch of holes to let water through at s lower rate. Note this is not the metal faucet screen cover which is designed to diffuse the stream.
Here’s a photo of some kinds of them. I confess the first thing I did when I moved into my apartment was replace the showerhead with an overhead rainfall one and remove that flow restrictor. It is glorious.
