(Sink) Pressure's gonna drop on you

[TheGreatVolare]

Hey folks!

I'm a total noob when it comes to plumbing and so I thought I'd seek help from people who actually know a thing or two about plumbing.

I recently replaced the disposal unit under my sink. The replacement process went without a hitch but when I ran the sink afterwards, the water pressure had noticeably dropped. I crawled back under the sink to make sure that I had fully opened the water cutoff valves and both the hot and cold cutoff valves were completely open. The more I have mess with the valves to try to figure out what's going on, the lower the water pressure gets even though I'm quite sure that I'm leaving the valves completely open. My sink is now a trickle!

When I replaced the disposal, I did not disconnect any water lines to the faucet. I turned the water off at the hot/cold valves but then only disconnected the drain from the old disposal and reconnected it to the new unit. No other room in my house is having any issues with their water pressure.

Any suggestions or ideas would be most welcome. Thanks plumbing gurus!

 

[jeffmattero76]

I would suggest starting with the easy stuff first.

Plug the sink drain and remove the aerator from the faucet. Open the faucet on cold and hot and let it run for a few seconds. If the water flows normally, your aerator is clogged. You can buy a new one, or clean the debris from the one you have.

If the aerator is not the problem, go under the sink, turn off the valves, and disconnect the supply lines from the faucet. Get a bucket, and, one at a time, aim each supply line into the bucket, and turn the water on slowly to try to flush out any debris.

If that doesn't solve it, the problem is most likely in the cartridge of the faucet. Disassembly depends on which faucet you have. If you know who made it, let us know, or go online for disassembly instructions. It's usually a simple task, and most faucets have a lifetime guarantee, so, if you find a broken part, the manufacturer will usually send you the needed parts for free.

 

[Diehard]

If BOTH the HW and the CW are down to a trickle, when you open them individually, highly unlikely it would be in either or both feed line.

Is it a single handle handle faucet?

So you actually closed both of those water valves and then reopened them, when you did the drain work?

 

[TheGreatVolare]

I'll give those troubleshooting techniques a try and get back to you! We have a single handle faucet, an American Standard Fairbury 4005 Series.

I did close both of the water valves and then reopened them when I replaced the disposal. Looking back, I now realize that probably wasn't really necessary but I was thinking better safe than sorry at the time.

 

[Diehard]

I'll give those troubleshooting techniques a try and get back to you! We have a single handle faucet, an American Standard Fairbury 4005 Series.

I did close both of the water valves and then reopened them when I replaced the disposal. Looking back, I now realize that probably wasn't really necessary but I was thinking better safe than sorry at the time.

 

[TheGreatVolare]

Looks like it was the aerator! I pulled it apart according to the instructions and, sure enough, there was some debris in there. We cleaned it out and now its working like a charm! Thanks so much for your suggestions and help!