Hot water pressure is low, only in kitchen

April 14, 2014 11:48 AM

The hot water pressure in my kitchen faucet is suddenly reduced. It remains fine in the rest of the house. What should I check?

I'm not going to take apart the pipes or anything -- but are there any DIY diagnostics I can try to figure out what's wrong before I hire a plumber? Should I be worried about my hot water heater, or does this seem like a different kind of problem?

Basically, I'm a bit flummoxed. I can't figure out what I can/should even check myself before calling a pro.

posted by OrangeDisk to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

I can't think of a way to narrow it down much without taking pipes apart. Could be an obstruction in the faucet itself, or in the shutoff valve in the cabinet under the sink. I assume the cold water pressure is fine at the kitchen sink?
posted by jon1270 at 11:55 AM on April 14, 2014

Best answer: Have you made sure the valve underneath the sink didn't get hit with something and turned down accidentally?
posted by something something at 12:01 PM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Start by checking the aerator. It's both one of the most common problems and one of the easiest to fix. (Oh, sorry, missed that it was hot water only. Still can't hurt, but unlikely to be the problem if the cold water is OK.)
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:19 PM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Bits of debris can get into your water system at many points, starting outside and all the way to the faucet.

First thing I'd do is unscrew the mesh filter at the end of the faucet and give that a good cleaning out. If your cold water pressure remains good, that's probably not the problem. But it won't hurt, and it probably needs doing.

Assuming the valves under the sink aren't frozen in place, I'd open and close those a few times, in hopes of dislodging anything that happens to be caught there.

I'd wager though that the obstruction is in the hot water valve of the faucet.
posted by wotsac at 12:21 PM on April 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

Unscrew the feed at the valve and clean anything out you find. If that fixes it, great. If not, switch the hot and cold feeds. If cold water is slow the clog is in the faucet. If hot water remains slow it is in the pipe.
posted by munchingzombie at 12:27 PM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you all so much. For future reference for others who might stumble upon this -- the problem was the hot water valve, it had somehow gotten turned down. I also removed the aerator and found a rock in it, so I cleaned that out.
posted by OrangeDisk at 6:18 AM on April 15, 2014 [1 favorite]