Upstairs Sink Water Pressure
 

This house is 50 years old, but the upstairs bathroom is considerably
newer--probably 8-10 years. Within the last week pressure to the sink
has dropped to almost nothing, both hot and cold. Thinking it might be
some sort of obstruction in the supply lines or faucet, I replaced both,
but no dice. The pressure in the adjacent toilet and shower is fine. Any
ideas?

Raymond J. Johnson Jr. wrote:

This house is 50 years old, but the upstairs bathroom is considerably
newer--probably 8-10 years. Within the last week pressure to the sink
has dropped to almost nothing, both hot and cold. Thinking it might be
some sort of obstruction in the supply lines or faucet, I replaced both,
but no dice. The pressure in the adjacent toilet and shower is fine. Any
ideas?

Unscrew the "aerator" on the spout and clean the screen.
More than likely a clump of "gunk" (technical term)
got deposited there. Could have come from the older
piping in the house or even from the Mains outside.

Jim

Speedy Jim wrote:
Raymond J. Johnson Jr. wrote:

This house is 50 years old, but the upstairs bathroom is considerably
newer--probably 8-10 years. Within the last week pressure to the sink
has dropped to almost nothing, both hot and cold. Thinking it might be
some sort of obstruction in the supply lines or faucet, I replaced
both, but no dice. The pressure in the adjacent toilet and shower is
fine. Any ideas?


Unscrew the "aerator" on the spout and clean the screen.
More than likely a clump of "gunk" (technical term)
got deposited there. Could have come from the older
piping in the house or even from the Mains outside.

Jim

Thanks for the quick response. Faucet (and aerator) is brand-spankin' new.

Raymond J. Johnson Jr. wrote:
Speedy Jim wrote:

Raymond J. Johnson Jr. wrote:

This house is 50 years old, but the upstairs bathroom is considerably
newer--probably 8-10 years. Within the last week pressure to the
sink has dropped to almost nothing, both hot and cold. Thinking it
might be some sort of obstruction in the supply lines or faucet, I
replaced both, but no dice. The pressure in the adjacent toilet and
shower is fine. Any ideas?



Unscrew the "aerator" on the spout and clean the screen.
More than likely a clump of "gunk" (technical term)
got deposited there. Could have come from the older
piping in the house or even from the Mains outside.

Jim


Thanks for the quick response. Faucet (and aerator) is brand-spankin' new.

Well, it *was* the aerator. After I thought about it for a minute, it
seem to be the only possible answer. The aerator was clogged with a bit
of some sort of metallic debris. Being that the new faucet got clogged
almost as soon as I turned it on, I removed the aerator and just let the
water run for a while to see what else might show up. Then I went in the
basement and looked at all of the water pipes I could see, and
discovered a galvanized pipe with a pinhole-sized corrosion leak, which
might well have been the source of the problem. Thanks to Speedy Jim for
the answer.

Raymond J. Johnson Jr. wrote:
SNIP
Well, it *was* the aerator. After I thought about it for a minute, it
seem to be the only possible answer. The aerator was clogged with a bit
of some sort of metallic debris. Being that the new faucet got clogged
almost as soon as I turned it on, I removed the aerator and just let the
water run for a while to see what else might show up. Then I went in the
basement and looked at all of the water pipes I could see, and
discovered a galvanized pipe with a pinhole-sized corrosion leak, which
might well have been the source of the problem. Thanks to Speedy Jim for
the answer.

Start putting pennies in the piggy-bank; your 50 yr old galv
is due for replacement.

Jim

The manufacturers generally recommend running the water with the aerator
removed for a few minutes after installing a faucet to flush any debris from
the system.

But as someone mentioned, this could be materials from your old pipes as
well. Particularly if you have newer copper connecting directly to the old
iron. Corrosion will happen where the two metels meet and eventually either
clog the pipe at that point or break loose and collect at the next smallest
place - the aerator.


"Speedy Jim" wrote in message
...
Raymond J. Johnson Jr. wrote:
SNIP
Well, it *was* the aerator. After I thought about it for a minute, it
seem to be the only possible answer. The aerator was clogged with a bit
of some sort of metallic debris. Being that the new faucet got clogged
almost as soon as I turned it on, I removed the aerator and just let the
water run for a while to see what else might show up. Then I went in the
basement and looked at all of the water pipes I could see, and discovered
a galvanized pipe with a pinhole-sized corrosion leak, which might well
have been the source of the problem. Thanks to Speedy Jim for the answer.

Start putting pennies in the piggy-bank; your 50 yr old galv
is due for replacement.

Jim