Saturday, September 20, 2008

Crud in the Pipes

No, this isn't a medical condition.

Since the dishwasher was installed the other day I noticed that the water flowing out of the kitchen faucet was slower than normal.

At first I figured it was the new shut-off valve installed on the hot water line, which may not be allowing full water flow.

But that shouldn't make the cold water line also flow more slowly, which was also happening.

Other faucets in the house were fine, so it was just something wrong with the kitchen faucet.

The fastest and easiest thing to check was the aerator (where the water exists the faucet) which just screws on & off. There is a screen inside there which traps debris.

The screen in mine was covered with a ton of debris and rust from the water line, which was slowing the water flow for hot & cold. Basically, there was a crud build-up that was blocking water flow.

The debris was probably dislodged in the pipes from the water being turned on & off during the dishwasher installation. The water was shut off to the house and faucets were opened upstairs and downstairs, draining the lines of water. When the water was turned back on, it knocked loose some junk that had built up in the lines, which got trapped in the aerator.

Lucky for me I turned the faucet on first, which sent the crap to the faucet instead of to the dishwasher!

Cheap, easy, and fast. The way I like my solutions.