Within the last 48 hours, two faucets suddenly have really poor hot water pressure. The kitchen faucet has low pressure on hot; on cold it is fine. Right around the corner in the half bath, the hot water pressure is great. Upstairs in the bathroom we have a double sink; one of the hot waters works great; the other one is just a dribble. We have well water, and there is usually a lot of white deposits around the shower head, faucets, etc.

Is this a deposit that has come loose and is clogging my faucets? Thanks

Hi Gabrielle,
Yes your faucets are clogging up. Sounds like mineral build-up from the water heater has broke loose and got into the supplies and faucets. You're going to have to open up the faucets, If it is a one lever faucet you will need to pull the cartridge and check the ports for trash. If you have a two handle faucet, turn off the angle stops and pop the emblem off the top of the handle. Unscrew the bolt and remove the handle. Unscrew the retaining nut from the chrome cover and you are left with the stem and the bonnet packing nut. If there is a nut below the bonnet that is the top of the valve body holding the stem and washer assembly and the one you want to unscrew. Remove the stem and washer. Look down in the seat for trash. Now your going to flush the hot line. Put a pan over the open hot side to dirvert the water back into the sink and VERY CAREFULLY crack the hot water angle stop. If there is trash in the line hopefully this will flush it out. If the washer is worn or the seat nicked then replace it.

Now on to the cause. Mineral build-up. The heater needs to be flushed out and a regular maintenance schedule set uo. Let me show you how.
If you do not flush,(not drain) your heater on a regular basis it will build up mineral on the bottom of the tank. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run until the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) and some white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). The whole thing shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. You might want to consider cleaning the screens on your areators if you have a high mineral buildup. If thev problem still persists after you have flushed, you will have to drain the heater, remove the boiler drain and go up in the bottom of the tank with a wood or plastic rod, (not metal) and try to break up the mineral and flush it out. Good luck, Tom

Chances are, yes. Often you can fix the problem by shutting off the water to the faucet, taking it apart, removing the crud, maybe by turning the water on for a second or 2, and then putting it back together. Most faucets come apart by prying off the cap on the knob, remove the screw, then the knob, and finally unscrewing the whole works. The part that comes out could be plugged up too.

If you can't figure out how to get the faucet apart, post back with the brand and model, or at least a description.

Thanks for your help... the problem with the bathroom was at the angle valve, clogged with salts. The kitchen problem "went away," at least for now. I also developed a problem with the washing machine hot water... problem there was at the hose going into the machine. The filter was clogged about 1/4 inch. Amazing any water at all was getting through. Also drained the hot water tank, but didn't see much junk coming out of there. Thanks again for the help! :) :) undefined