Hi,

We seem to be having a problem with our kitchen sink. The water pressure seems really low and the water is barely trickling out. We had this problem before, but cleaned out the little screen in the faucet and that seemed to help. This time we removed the Pur water filter so there was no screen and the water was just trickling out. The pressure seems fine everywhere else in the house. The dishwasher and washer are in the kitchen and they are working just fine with great pressure.

Don't know anything about plumbing or what type of faucet this is, but it's a single handle type that turns and pulls up and down. I know the pipes are under the house. SHould I be looking for a leak? Or should I be taking the faucet apart? I'm just not sure where to begin or what could be causing low pressure in one area.

Another thing is that we have a lot of minerals in our water and our screens are constantly clogged. Is there anything we can do to prevent this or will this cause any other problems in the system?

Thanks for any help!

April:)

Have you removed the aerator on the end of the spout and checked the screens? And how often do you flush your water heater? Regards, tom

Have you removed the aerator on the end of the spout and checked the screens? And how often do you flush your water heater? regards, tom

Yes, as I said we removed the screen completely, so there was nothing on the end of the spout. At this point we are thinking it's the faucet itself. Now we need to get the right equipment to get the faucet off since it is on their pretty tight. It's a Kohler.

We don't flush the hot water heater. Never have so I have no clue how to even do this.

Thanks,
April

Hi April,

Shut the wateroff at the stops in the cabinet and open up the faucet and remove the cartridge. Check the inlet ports for debris and crud build up. Now hold a pan over the open valve and turn the water back on for a few seconds to flush out the supplies.

For long life and fewer troubles you should keep your heater clear of mineral build-up by flushing on a regular schedule. Let me show you how. 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) followed by white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). This shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Do this monthly to keep it clear. Now flush out your hot water lines on ALL fixtures. Now pull each aerator and clean the screens. Be sure you put them back togather the same way you took them out. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Hope this helps, Tom

If it was the hot water heater, wouldn't all the sinks and bathtubs/showers experience the low pressure, not just the kitchen sink?

If it was the hot water heater, wouldn't all the sinks and bathtubs/showers experience the low pressure, not just the kitchen sink? Not necessarily. If you had mineral buildup to the point it entered the hot water line and the kitchen sink made the first draw that's the fixture that would be affected. Follow my earlier directions,
Shut the wateroff at the stops in the cabinet and open up the faucet and remove the cartridge. Check the inlet ports for debris and crud build up. Now hold a pan over the open valve and turn the water back on for a few seconds to flush out the supplies.
and get back with the results. Good luck, Tom