hot water flowing poorly... - Plumbing Forum

rbico · 11-04-2011, 01:29 PM

Last night I noticed very low pressure at my kitchen sink. when it is turned on, it slowly comes on and after a few seconds it improves but only slightly. It is probably at about half pressure. The cold is fine. I took apart the faucet, which is only a year old, and cleaned out everything I could but saw no blockage and saw had no improvement. The other hot water on that floor is fine and the hot water in the sink on the lower floor -- directly below the kitchen sink - is also fine. My guess is that some rust or something broke loose and is clogging the line. The pipes under the kitchen sink are copper, but the lines from the hot water heater are galvanized (The house was built in 1960.). I had to replace a 4' section of galvanized pipe last year in my basement due to bad rust.

my thought is that either the faucet is bad (it was cheap) or there is something blocking the line. I was planning on starting with the hoses under the kitchen sink to rule-out the faucet then work backward to try and find a clog or something. my problem is that there is only about 2' of exposed pipe under the sink before it goes in the the wall and then I can't really do much.

Any advice?

**havasu** · 11-04-2011, 02:50 PM

If you have ruled out a blockage within the faucet, I'm afraid there is not much more you will be able to do unless you re-pipe the entire house. When I re-piped my 1967 house a few years back, I had one 3/4" pipe which I cut in half, and you could not put a straw within the opening. Sure wish I had taken pictures of it.

rbico · 11-04-2011, 04:01 PM

crap. I was afraid of that. When I replaced the 4' section I mentioned, I found the same thing you found.. the inside diameter of the pipe was 3/4" but there was so much rust that only about 1/4" was visible.

I am hopeful that maybe a chunk of rust broke free and lodged in the pipe. If I am really lucky, it is stuck somewhere right under my kitchen sink where I can get at it. Looks like I have a fun Saturday ahead of me either way.

thanks for the response!

**havasu** · 11-04-2011, 04:56 PM

Just understand that even though you might be able to replace a section or two of bad pipe, your system will only be as strong as your weakest pipe. You might save time by dedicating a weekend and replacing one complete leg at a time, until the old galvanized pipe is completely eliminated.

rbico · 11-09-2011, 01:42 PM

Follow-up (I got lucky).

I started at the sink, as I said I would. I pulled the first flexible tube off from the hot water spigot and there was a chunk of rubber washer or something right in the hole that the water moves through. i took it out and now the pressure is back where it should be.

**havasu** · 11-09-2011, 02:55 PM

Congrats on having a thicker wallet for at least a little while! Thanks for the follow up because others might experience this same situation some day.