Faucet, pipes or what?

10 years ago

We are having serious water problems. I live in Charlotte NC and I have city water service. We have lived here about five years and always had some issues with the plumbing. The kitchen faucet stopped working. We sometimes got water but often the flow would stop. I noticed that when I flushed the toilet on the other side of the wall that the water would often begin to flow again. But, then when I tried touching the water going into the toilet, I noticed that the toilet connection was dripping water onto the floor so I set the toilet turn off valve back to where it had been. Anyway, the problem with the kitchen faucet got so bad that I finally had to call a plumber. We had someone out here and he said the problem was sediment. He said sediment was blocking the pipe. So he unscrewed the piece on the end of the faucet and said we should get water. Well the water is cutting off again but only sometimes but I need to figure out what to do next because I don't think we should have so much sediment in the pipes and why is it only affecting this pipe and why do we sometimes get water and then it cuts off. I don't want to get a whole house water filter if it won't fix the problem. I personally don't know anyone around here that has a water filter so why do I need it but my neighbors don't?
Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Desperate in Charlotte

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Comments (8)

klem1
10 years ago
"So he unscrewed the piece on the end of the facuet and said we should get water".
Unscrew the piece again yourself. It is there for two reasons,one is to prevent water splashing on the counter and the other is because bureaucrates in Washington think it saves water. Well,I guess if you can only turn the water on 50% of the time you are saving 50% in water.
If the water runs well sans that do- dad,leave it off if you can live with a little splashing. Otherwise take the piece ( it's called "airaitor" ) to the big box or hardware and they will match it. Some may suggest soaking it in vinigar but I'm afraid anyone who causes their toilet to leak and kitchen facuet quit working by TOUCHING the water going into the toilet might cause problems with the garage door opener trying to fix the airator.
User
10 years ago
I's suspect that you have old galvanized plumbing supply lines, and that it's time for a complete repipe. It's what's creating the crud in the pipes. It deteriorates over time.
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brickeyee
10 years ago
If you have galvanized steel pipes that are more than 30 years old they are on borrowed time.

Start budgeting replacement.

You do NOT have to remove the old ones, except where they are in the way of new ones (like at fixtures).

You do not have to follow the same path as the old ones.

Some of the new flexible lines (like PEX) have a long history in Europe and work well.

For supply lines plain old soldered copper still works well.

CPVC for supply lines is NOT as good as using copper (or PEX).

If you are capable of doing the work you can save a lot of money.
homebound
10 years ago
I'll opt for the "small job" approach.

Just try to solve the problem at hand one more time. Maybe you just need to clear the aerator again. Or disconnect each supply line to the faucet, then turn on the water briefly to flush more sediment. Catch it in a bucket, then put it back together.

I know of many homes with galvanized pipe dating from the 20's and 30's that continue to function with just the odd repair here and there (including having to cut out a bad/leaky section of pipe and replace it.) Still, after you repair you'll probably get another 10-15 years out of it before doing another repair somewhere else.

One more thing. Dissassemble the faucet and check for sediment behind cartridges, etc. Recently, we got an old house bathroom back to 100% flow by removing the supply line, then removing crud from the base of the faucet inlet. The owner, who had lived there 10 years, said it never worked so good before.

This post was edited by homebound on Sat, Jun 15, 13 at 19:54
treasureforu
Original Author
10 years ago
The aerator is off and the water still cuts off from time to time. It flows better but not always so something else must be wrong. I like the like the idea of looking for sediment behind the cartridges. We want to replace the faucet soon anyway so would that maybe fix the problem or will the sediment eventually just do the same thing?
homebound
10 years ago
Can't tell yet.

Next is to disconnect the supply lines, clear them briefly, and determine if they seem clogged or not. If they seem to run freely, then it's some part of the faucet (inlet, behind cartridge, etc..).
klem1
10 years ago
I don't follow the idea of "sediment behind the cartridge". There isn't a filter nor small opening in there that will stop sediment. Besides that,digging that deep requires as much effort as replacing the facuet so you need to be certan a new facuet is available and you can follow through before taking it apart. If your sink/facuet has a hose sprayer, that could malfunction intermitently. When flows stops,try the sprayer. If you need to ask for more assistance,it will help if you discribe the facuet. Single lever,knobs,sprayer and brand. Does flow stop for both hot and cold?
homebound
10 years ago
I'm not saying that it is common, but sediment and some of the larger particles can lodge in more than one place, even when there is no filter/screen. On a recent job I found debris blocking an inlet (the port was tiny, but no filter), more debris at the base of the cartridge (I removed the cartridge to find it), and more in the aerator. Debris in all three places for that faucet only. The rest of the house was fine.