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Kitchen sink faucet lost its water pressure

yam2006
17 years ago

I did some preventative maintenance this evening by closing and re-opening the valves in my bathrooms, laundry, and kitchen. My procedure was to turn the water on at the faucet, close the valve, verify that the water flow had stopped, re-open the valve, and then shut off the faucet.

Everything went smoothly except for the kitchen sink faucet. This faucet is a one-piece design with a single stem controlling both hot and cold. Previously it had good pressure on both sides, but after closing and re-opening the valves under the sink, now it only trickles. I've doublechecked the valves and each of them is wide open. What caused this faucet to lose its water pressure, and how do I fix it?

Comments (47)

  • shacko
    17 years ago

    Agree with fqp25, but I would take aerator off and run the faucet before disconnecting any lines, if they run full force then the aerator is clogged. If that dosen't work then procede with what he recommends. Luck.

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  • yam2006
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks guys. There was some black plasticy crud in a filter a few inches upstream from the aerator, where the pull-out spray head detaches from the main stem. I don't know how the crud got in there, but it was easy to clean out. Hot and cold water pressure are both back to normal.

  • johnjohn_ggmail_com
    16 years ago

    I stumbled upon this website which has many new kitchen sink faucet selection, cheaper than amazon.com, hope this helps.

    http://efaucetsink.info

    Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen sink faucet

  • boxerwii_2007
    16 years ago

    Installing an overmount sink - the common type of sink that rests above the countertop - might seem like an intimidating task. But the reality is if you can draw lines using a template, cut with a saber saw and use an ordinary or even a Crescent wrench, you can likely install a sink. If you are installing a new sink, you will need to decide on the shape and material for the new sink. Kitchen sinks come in all kinds of designs - single bowl, double bowl and even triple bowl - as well as many different materials, such as stainless steel or enamel.

    I suggest these 2 sites where they offer high quality sinks and faucets for kitchen and bath. I believe they are having free shipping promotion at the moment.

    http://www.discount-faucet-sink.info
    http://www.discount-kitchenfaucets.info

    Sources:
    http://www.discount-faucet-sink.info/sitemap/
    http://www.discount-kitchenfaucets.info/sitemap/

    Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen sink faucet

  • lesleyp
    16 years ago

    I have encountered a similar drop in water pressure in my kitchen faucet after replacing my water heater. I cleaned out the aerater -- it was full of crud. But the flow is still very low.

    After reading this post, I went to back flush the lines, but alas no shutoff valves under the sink. So...I turned off the hot water shutoff at the water heater, disconnected the hot water supply line to the sink, and ran the cold water (while blocking the end of the tap).

    This has improved the flow somewhat but it is nowhere near what it was prior to the water heater surgery. Any suggestions on how to back flush the other (cold water) side without flooding the place?

  • gordon_grow
    15 years ago

    I followed directions but no success. My problem is that the sprayer hose has all the pressure and the faucet has only a trickle. It must be some diverter or something that controls the flow from the faucets to the sprayer. Any help? Thanks.

  • Err_err_com
    12 years ago

    Thank you thank you thank you for this posting and the answers!! I had a similar problem; had turned off the water lines and then after turning them back on found I only had a trickle! So frustrating! But unscrewing the tip totally did the trick! I had some weird sand/gravel type things clogging it up! Now it's running with more pressure than ever! Thanks so much for the help!

  • mickie_salonmadesimple_com
    12 years ago

    Thank you guys so much! I fixed it by unscrewing the tip and sure enough there was a small piece of metal clogging it up.
    Thank goodness for these types of sites!

  • s_nickinson_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    Just want to say that this post helped me decipher and fix a totally frustrating situation. Thanks!

  • rzea_rocketmail_com
    12 years ago

    Same exact problem: Very low water pressure in kitchen sink.

    Cause: Aerator clogged.

    Solution: Unscrew it and clean it.

    Don't know what an aerator is (just like me)? Click on the link below:

    Here is a link that might be useful: Thi is an aerator.

  • blueplate
    12 years ago

    We have the same problem! But when we tried to back flush the pipes, it didn't work. Holding my hand over the faucet didn't cause the water to shoot out the unattached supply line, it just squirted out between the faucet and my hand!

    Is this just how my faucet works, or does that issue indicate something about what's causing my low pressure?

  • tomsan
    12 years ago

    Thank you very much, (especially fqp25) your advice fixed my sink and prevented me from making a very costly mistake of calling a plumber. Thank you.

  • canofpicante
    11 years ago

    and I have a $200+ faucet so I didn't want to buy a new one. The faucet is a one handle model with a sprayer as part of the head that can be pulled out.

    I could backflush cold and hot but still could not get water out the faucet head so I knew the clog was in the faucet mechanism or in the hose after the hot/cold mixing valve.

    I took the whole thing apart and it turns out that inside one of the ends of the sprayer/faucet head hose, there was a small valve. I thought maybe it was clogged so I ripped it out. There was no debris in the valve (looked like an anti-reflux valve) so it must have been faulty/incompetant. Anyway, that fixed the problem.

  • CrapeMyrtleGuy
    10 years ago

    Thank you. That worked for me

  • Gardenwall1
    10 years ago

    Wow - THANK YOU! That worked for me - amazing. Thank you for sparing me an expensive plumber call.

  • TessaNeussen
    10 years ago

    Had water main break and after the fix all water in the house ran fine again except for the kitchen sink. Barely a trickle.

    So glad I Googled and found this forum. I also had some sandy grit blocking the aerator. Just rinsed it out and works better than ever. Never would have thought of that.

    Thank you!!

  • sweetp4662
    9 years ago

    My kitchen faucet also lost water pressure. I took the faucet apart and cleaned it all out. This did not help. Now months later the outside spigot (right outside of the kitchen) has lost pressure also. And it stinks! Do I do the back flush like stated in earlier post? I have a feeling I have a rodent in my lines. We have had water main leakage at the corner of my property and the city for years have said they fixed it but every year it leaks. But I think they finally fixed it. But could something have gotten. In that way?

  • shafik12
    9 years ago

    Shafik,

    Hi Thanks all,

    Suddenly water pressure went down in kitchen sink faucet. Tried cleaning faucet tip, Back pressure each time closing one valve ... did not work. I took a thin wire and passed through the tip of faucet couple of times...and there you go water came with usual pressure. Probably there must have been a small deposition at the throat of faucet.Thought of sharing, Thanks forum members for tips shared.

  • sdg147
    8 years ago

    Thank you. Recommendation worked great! Suddenly lost pressure and had a whistle noise. Unscrewed the faucet head, filter was crooked and somewhat clogged. straightened filter and ran water through, reattached and all works well again. Thank you

  • Shane
    8 years ago

    I had this problem as well after shutting off the water to replace the sprayer hose. The pressure drop was mostly noticeable on the cold side.

    I removed the aerator. I flushed both sides. Multiple times. Now, water has stopped flowing out the faucet all together. With one side disconnected, the water will flow from the faucet and if I cover it with my hand there is good pressure coming out the disconnected hose. I'm guessing that the issue is in the faucet, not either of the lines?

  • rroy57
    8 years ago

    Just had water heater replaced today. Kitchen water was working fine until I went and tried to open the taps and use toilets in the rest of the house. NO water in the taps, but the sink in the basement worked, the shower upstairs worked, but the hot and cold water in the sink did not work and the toilet filled slowly. The ensuite bathroom that backs on the main washroom had the toilet filling ok but NO water in the hot or cold taps. I went downstairs to the kitchen and now the kitchen sink tap only has a small dribble and it worked fine 15 minutes before. I phone the water heater guy, but he said as long as I had hot water was all he cared about and there must be plumbing issues...yeah, ever since he left! HELP!



  • kudzu9
    8 years ago

    Likely sediment was dislodged when the water tank was switched out and it is clogging some of the lines. Start by disassembling the strainers on each of the problem taps.

  • rroy57
    8 years ago

    Yes you are right..my husband has taken out all the aerators and they are all plugged. Unfortunately he turned off the shut off valve to the cold water under our bathroom sink and the handle broke..so he had to run to the store and get a replacement tap/value unit. Only thing is our water line to the fridge is not working either. So, do we replace the expensive filter or would it be something in the water line?


  • kudzu9
    8 years ago

    First, before reinstalling the strainers, it would be good to run the taps for a minute or two to flush out any more crud. I don't necessarily think the filter for the fridge needs replacement, but you should disconnect the supply line and flush it out, and then see if it's possible to clean out the filter.

  • christopermichal
    8 years ago

    My parents live in a mobile home, water heater had to be replaced by a company and now the kitchen water faucet has very very low water pressure I replaced the faucet but no change. I also opened and closed the water heater valves which didn't help. What should I check next?

  • rroy57
    8 years ago

    Found out the problem with the plugged taps was the water softener! The water tank installers had to "move" our water softener to take out the broken water tank. It was immediately after the new tank was installed that most or if not all of our taps would not work. The plumber who came in the next day and had to repair the water pipe the installers also broke, said he thought it was our water softener. Sure enough, I phoned the water softener company and told them the stuff coming out of our taps that my husband cleaned out was yellow sand like stuff. Yep, it was the resin from our water softener tank. So..to make a long story short, the plumber has to replace a whole bunch of pipes and valves. Put in a new sink and taps which were old and rusting..cost $ 4,500. A new water softener which came a week later (had to deal with white calcium deposits on everything) for another cost of over $ 2,000 (we bought reverse osmosis system as well and connected it to our fridge). Yes, we did replace the expensive filter in our fridge as it was plugged with the yellow stuff too!

    The only thing that did not cost us (directly) was replacing the water tank as it was a rental..but boy did the fallout ever cost us!

  • kudzu9
    8 years ago

    rroy57-

    Well, I should say congratulations for figuring this out, but I guess I should extend my sympathies, too! Anyway, good luck and thanks for posting that useful info.

  • bl1956 bl1956
    8 years ago

    all of the sudden my kitchen sink lost all of its pressue,I took aerator off,no clog,took faucet off,no clog turned wter on hot and cold,no pressure coming out of either.What could cause that.There is pressure to all other spickets.Please help.TKS

  • kudzu9
    8 years ago

    Could someone have turned off the shutoff valves under the sink? What happens if you disconnect the supply hoses to the faucet?

  • kimberdarts
    7 years ago

    I just replaced the faucet in my kitchen. I get great water pressure from the hot but the cold is just a dribble. Thought it was the faucet so i disconnected it, took it back and bought another one. Still same problem. What is wrong. HELP!

  • AliceHasLeftTheBuilding
    7 years ago

    Check your cold water shutoff valve.

  • Jonny Costa
    7 years ago

    Here's one i have a kitchen facet single knob above the spout pfizer kind with a sprayer on the side...sprayer pressure is great, line off pressure is great, aerator replaced cartridge replaced, still just a trickle...can't figure it out is there another filter after where the lines hook up yet after where they sprayer gets pressure?

  • Swar Det
    6 years ago

    i read all the comments. nothing worked.

    here's my situation:
    at my kitchen sink at the delta faucet, the water pressure suddenly dropped and steadily lowered to the point where it would take a few minutes to fill the coffee pot.

    i removed all of the apparatus of the valve on top of the sink had my son hold a cup over the top, and i turned the water on individually (cold/hot). this verified i had tons of pressure.

    i removed the filter apparatus where the water dispenses from and although there was some blockage there because of all the years of filtering the water, it wasn't enough to cause the sudden drop in pressure.

    i then closely inspected all the items in the valve apparatus ( i don't know what they're called - springs, rubber gaskets, water control ball, etc ) and determined there was nothing wrong with them, despite being 12 years old.

    i thought about it and reasoned that there had to be some sediment in the actual line that is the corrugated metal coil that is from the bottom of the sink apparatus to the end of where the water wand fits. so i went to lowes and looked all around for something like a flexible piece of wire that i could fish into the line. the closest thing i found was a little package for $5 called "the drain weasel" that is designed for hair clogs. the end has a small piece of velcro that made it to large to fit in the line, so i cut it off. it did fit, and i turned the water on, fished the thing in and "blast-0" the water spewed out with a great amount of pressure. there was what looked like two small rocks in the sink. i inspected closer, and it appears to be rubber, not rocks.

    i can surmise that was in my line due to coming in from downstream, or the actual interior of the line is lined with rubber and it's coming off in pieces. anyway, i now have a great deal of water pressure and life is back to normal.

  • Rebekah Camblin
    6 years ago

    Thank you for saving the day! We had the same problem and were stumped! Thank you!!

  • lpahdopony
    6 years ago

    I am having a similar issue. The water pressure was fine in my kitchen faucet and the sprayer had very little pressure. While I was running the water I heard a clunking noise and the pressure suddenly went down to a trickle and the sprayer started working normally. I'm wondering if it's the spray diverter....

  • Swar Det
    6 years ago

    ipa pony,

    i fixed mine. what happened with our sink was several pieces of plastic from the inside of the extending hose inside of the corrugated metal assembly came loose (12yrs old) and clogged the output. There was a $5 plastic routing rooter that I bought at Lowes, trimmed the end (was too fat to go into the end of the hose), and after several rooting attempts coupled with trying to blast water as I would remove the rooter, finally the pieces of plastic shot out and voila - tons of water pressure. Actually more than we remember having and we bought the house new in 2004.
    good luck.

  • Jake The Wonderdog
    6 years ago

    Seriously, you all need to start a new thread. This starts 11 years ago.

  • gpera56
    6 years ago

    Folks, thank you so much!

    We turned off the water supply to fix an outdoor faucet.

    When we turned the water back on, all the showers, toilets, faucets, etc. worked fine EXCEPT THE KITCHEN.

    I removed the aerator and found a bit of metal (?) grit blocking the hole. Removed it, put it back on, and worked for a second before..more grit. Now I've run it a while and hope that cleared it.

    Canceling the $200 plumber call.

    Thank you!


  • Free Country
    6 years ago

    I tried @fgp25 fix of back-flushing any and it ALMOST worked. One side cleared up right away but not water would come out of the other side. After a frustrating 10 minutes of water spraying everywhere and my thumb getting sore, my daughter suggested we use the Soda Steam gas to flush the line. Well, it WORKED!

    Procedure: disconnect the supply line from the button supply valve (under sink) and place in a garbage can to catch water)

    Place the Soda Stream valve into the Faucet and push on the Soda Stream to dispense CO2.

    Turn the faucet on the open position on the side that is clogged (e.g. Hot).

    In my case, I had to remove the sprayer head on the faucet in order for the gas valve to fit.

    See pictures.



  • HU-815011833
    3 years ago

    If you buy faucet with lifetime warranty, you call them with the problem, they tell you what’s wrong , send you parts free to fix it !! I know Kohler, moen, not sure what other !! Keep your booklet from faucet staple receipt to book!!

  • kudzu9
    3 years ago

    I agree that it’s important to go with a plumbing manufacturer that provides a lifetime warranty, but a line or faucet that is clogged by some kind of debris is not a manufacturing defect that would likely be covered.

  • Jonathan Singer
    2 years ago

    Thank you all so much! clogged filter, 90 second fix. kitchen sink a trickle after shutting off main for a few hours to replace shower valves. cleaned the filter and now its running good as new.

  • HU-10313491
    2 years ago

    This is an old thread but it helped me. We had a leak under the kitchen sink, somewhere. There's a leak it turns out on the hose for the sprayer. 'kind of where it forms a 'U' near the weight. We have a Kohler K560 CP. (one handle for hot and cold) For some stupid reason I shut off the hot and cold valves under the sink. But it was nice that after 3 years they were not frozen at all. So im using a bucket under the leaky line until I get the replacement hose. ANYWAY, when I turned on the valves and the faucet, hot did not work at all, and cold worked normal. And then I lost some pressure on the cold. So I eventually tried what was recommended in this thread. I shut off the hot valve under the sink and I detached the hot line at the valve point and put it in a bucket. The cold valve was open, and I opened the cold full blast at the sink and held my hand tight over the faucet tip. I did that a few seconds. I was glad to see water and sediment had shot out of the hot line into the bucket. I reattached the hot to the valve and opened the valve. Both hot and cold water flow were restored. So I haven't flushed out the cold line because I dont want to break what isnt broken. :)

  • lisao1020
    2 years ago

    Worked! Thank you!

  • Melanie Weaver Barnett
    last year

    No need to discard this thread, WonderDog Jake, it’s apparently helping people in 2022, too. The plumbing technology has not changed much.

    Having said that, we have the same/similar problem, and these solutions are not working for us. We have a new kitchen faucet (1960s house we are renovating as we live in it) and all was fine for three weeks, except the hot and cold were on the wrong sides, so we went in and changed that over and suddenly there is hardly any water pressure. No debris in the screens, line, faucet head, etc. We can blow air through just fine. We’re about to order a new faucet unless someone else knows other potential fixes—-?!

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    last year

    Disconnect the supply lines and with a bucket and a rag, verify that you've got water pressure to the shutofff valves. Do you have a touch faucet? Those can get debris in the solinoid causing malfunctions.