What causes inconsistent water flow from my kitchen sink?

May 24, 2009 3:47 AM

What causes inconsistent water flow from my kitchen sink?

When turning on my Delta single lever kitchen faucet it makes a bumping noise and the water comes out very slowly at first increasing to normal flow after about 30 seconds. Other times there's no bump and the water flows normally.

posted by boby to home & garden (4 comments total)

There is probably gunk in the valve. Remove the aerator and open the hot and cold (alternately) full blast. That usually solves most problems like this. (Hold a cup under the faucet to catch the gunk and to prevent splashing.)

And/or the spring mechanism that stops water flow when you turn on the hand sprayer is malfunctioning. It's stopping the flow even though the sprayer isn't turned on. (That "thing" is in the spout itself, I believe, not in the valving.) Don't know how to fix this.
posted by gjc at 6:11 AM on May 24

I don't know much about plumbing, but I had a similar problem years ago, and I think the problem was a bad/out of place gasket that was letting air get in the line.
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 7:22 AM on May 24

My sink has started doing this, and I know for sure there's a bad (leaky) gasket in one of the faucets. I would not be surprised if Stylus is correct and the two are related.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 3:39 PM on May 24

Thanks for the advice. I replaced the washers and gaskets and the problem was solved. The parts cost less than $15 dollars. I was thinking of calling a plumber but decided to consult the Metafilter community!
posted by boby at 2:34 AM on May 26