tiny bit of water coming out of faucet

[cynthia]

Hi there,

My kitchen faucet is a single handle. Water started coming out slow yesterday and now has dwindled to little more than a drip.

I already cleaned out aerator and already shut off water to sink and disconnected lines from faucet to see if lines were plugged but they are not. Water flows into a bucket from the line just fine, but when hooked back up to faucet it dribbles out.

Could anyone tell me what may be wrong or an easy fix? It's the holiday and short on money and time and don't want to deal with having plumber in right now.

If it's not fixable is there a way I could take handle off and make it work with a pair of plyers for a few days?

Would appreciate any help you could give.

Thanks
Cynthia

[LonnythePlumber]

You need to repair the faucet. If you can identify the brand you can see a parts breakdown to better understand what you need to do. However it is not necessary. The rubber parts have worn and need replaced. Sometimes it's just washers and sometimes it's a cartridge.
If you have a Delta be careful when removing the dome cap to access the parts. You can twist and break the 3/8" copper lines. This usually requires replacing the faucet although hj could probably fix it in 20 minutes .

[cynthia]

Thank you Lonny.

I have a Price Pfister. Can you tell me how I remove the dome? By the dome, do you mean the round part on top that the handle sits on and moves around in?

Thanks again.
Cynthia

[LonnythePlumber]

I do mean the bell shaped part under the handle. I presume you have a model 100 that is like the delta. Under lever but still on the handle there is a red and blue 1/4" plastic piece that pops in and out. Behind it is an allen head bolt. After the handle comes off then the dome screws off clockwise. I'm not exactly sure about the price pfister's but it looks like you could twist the 3/8's copper lines like on a delta. You cannot use a lot of strength or a pipe wrench. You can use some channel locks. It would be better if you could keep a hand on the water lines directly under neath the faucet in the cabinet, so you could tell if you were twisting the lines.
If it won't come loose then you can heat the dome with a torch until it spins off. Have a bucket to put it in.

[jadnashua]

It's a left-handed thread?

[hj]

Try 5 minutes or less. No it is right handed. Few things in plumbing are left handed, except toilet tank levers and even then someone will occasionally make one with a right hand thread just to confuse us. If you can get by for a few days call 1-800-PFAUCET and give them the model of faucet and they will send you a new cartridge and instructions for replacing it.

[LonnythePlumber]

Thanks Jim. I meant counter clockwise.

[cynthia]

Thank you everyone. I very much appreciate.