Very Low Water Pressure on Kitchen Faucet - Help!

[Paul Willard]

Hi, hoping to get some help here for the problem in our kitchen sink. The water pressure in all other areas of the house, including the bathroom right off the kitchen, is perfect and is not losing pressure.

For the kitchen sink, the hot water pressure is really, really low. Not quite a trickle but it's barely coming out at all. Switching to cold water allows for a higher water flow but not much higher. We have a faucet with a black pull cord extender head as well — not sure if that matters though.

Here's what we've tried thus far, (and hasn't worked):

• Closing off and re-opening the shut off valves all the way (they were all the way open anyway).
• We cleaned the aerator and nothing improved.
  
• Taking off the pull cord extender head and then testing water flow from the black pull-out cord - and it's still really low/same as when the head is on (which made us think it was a cartridge issue).
• So, we cleaned the cartridge and nothing improved.

Is there anything we are missing from a testing and cleaning standpoint or should we get a new cartridge somewhere? Does this sound like purely a cartridge issue? Many, many thanks in advance!

 

[Reach4]

Do you have stop valves with flex lines going to the faucet assembly? How about getting a cheap flex line, hook that to the hot stop valve instead temporarily, and play the other end into a bucket. If the flow is bad there, you know to look elsewhere.

If you want more info about repairing your faucet, you would like to post make and model, or at least post a photo. Somebody may recognize the unit.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Plumber69]

Some faucets have filter screens on their supplys where they connect to the valves

 

[Paul Willard]

Do you have stop valves with flex lines going to the faucet assembly? How about getting a cheap flex line, hook that to the hot stop valve instead temporarily, and play the other end into a bucket. If the flow is bad there, you know to look elsewhere.

If you want more info about repairing your faucet, you would like to post make and model, or at least post a photo. Somebody may recognize the unit.

Thanks for the reply. So, I'm a rookie at this stuff. Appreciate your patience if you can bear with my ignorance for a moment.

When you say stop valves with flex lines — are you talking about the white/opaque rubber-like lines that run from the copper supply water lines to the faucet? If so, yes, we have flex pipes there, but then those very lines go into copper lines that run up into the faucet assembly. Those flex lines are difficult to take off because of the angle I need to be at under the sink to remove them with pliers or a wrench.

Could it be that the flex lines are clogged? I'll try to post a photo here when I get home tonight.

 

[Paul Willard]

Some faucets have filter screens on their supplys where they connect to the valves

Thanks! When you say "where they (supply lines?) connect to the valves" are you talking about the rubbery-opaque lines that run from the copper water pipes to the faucet assembly?

 

[Terry]

Sometimes the rubber on the hot shutoff will crumble and float up into the faucet, partially plugging the flow.
It's a good idea on homes from the 80's and older to replace the hot shutoff for that reason. You may need to remove the cartridge to the faucet and see if it can be cleared. In some cases I've back-flowed the faucet by taking the hot side off and running the water into a bucket to back wash.

 

[Reach4]

When you say "where they (supply lines?) connect to the valves" are you talking about the rubbery-opaque lines that run from the copper water pipes to the faucet assembly?

Probably. Here they are shiny braided metal-covered. The one off to the left is going to a dishwasher, and two are going up to the faucet assembly. The one with the little red band is for hot, and the one with the little black band is for cold.

These things come in various forms.

 

[Paul Willard]

Sometimes the rubber on the hot shutoff will crumble and float up into the faucet, partially plugging the flow.
It's a good idea on homes from the 80's and older to replace the hot shutoff for that reason. You may need to remove the cartridge to the faucet and see if it can be cleared. In some cases I've back-flowed the faucet by taking the hot side off and running the water into a bucket to back wash.

Thanks, Terry. Our house is only about 12 years old, so I don't know if what you're describing could be happening — but maybe?

As for the cartridge suggestion: We have removed the cartridge from the housing of the faucet assembly and cleaned it with vinegar and hot water — and still nothing improves. Could we simply need a new cartridge?

I guess the bigger question is: how do I take off the valve hoses off from the copper piping? Just with a simple wrench or pliers? I'll try to post pictures later on so hopefully someone can help out. And when you say back-flowed the faucet — can I ask what you mean?

 

[Paul Willard]

Probably. Here they are shiny braided metal-covered. The one off to the left is going to a dishwasher, and two are going up to the faucet assembly. The one with the little red band is for hot, and the one with the little black band is for cold.

These things come in various forms.

Thanks! I'll try to remember to post a pic here once I get back home. I guess the bigger question is, how do I take those pipes off from the copper lines and if I am able to get them off, what should I do with them? Wash them out? look for blockages?

Many, many thanks in advance!

 

[Reach4]

I guess the bigger question is, how do I take those pipes off from the copper lines

It may be a 5/8 open end wrench to disconnect the flex lines from the stop valves at the end of the copper pipe. Stop valves are called that because they are normally used to turn water on or off, and not to regulate the rate of flow.

What you do depends.... Terry was suggesting that you could close the hot valve, disconnect the hot supply line, and let that hang into an empty bucket. Then turn the faucet to warm (both hot and cold on), and block the faucet with your hand. The hope is the cold water pushes its way thru the faucet stuff and come out of the hot hose/line to the bucket. Ideally you will see crud in the bucket when done.

What I had suggested was to get a new cheap flex line ("3/8 compression") and put that onto the hot stop valve, and see if hot flows readily into the bucket. https://www.menards.com/main/plumbi...40-c-9413.htm?tid=-830164372836581140&ipos=18 would be one example, but we only care about one end for this. Terry's idea is much more likely to be productive than mine.