Water Pressure Problem???? (house, buy, shop)

[Hopes]

For the past week, my kitchen sink has been sounding weird when the water is running.

The pressure doesn't seem to change, but every 15 seconds it makes a jolting sound (doesn't literally jolt).

I counted. It's very predictable at the count of 15.

It seems to me that it might be the water pressure, but no other water source in my house does this.

Is it possible for the water pressure to be different for one sink in the house?

Does anyone have a clue why my kitchen sink is making this noise?

[jenniferprestia]

What type of faucet is it? If it's one of those single handle units with a ball valve in it I suspect that it's about to fail (there's a metal prong on the ball and it has broken off, and it allows the ball to "jump"). I'm just going on what happened with my sink a few years ago.

[Johnny C]

Bad faucet most likely (I am assuming that you havn't found any leaks anywhere in the line).

[Hopes]

It's a newer faucet! I think it was installed last year! See what happens when you upgrade!

It's not a single handle, but I'm sure you're both right that it's the faucet.

Thanks for the information, Jennifer and Johnny!

I think I'd rather buy a new one than spend money on a plumber to fix this one.

[jenniferprestia]

Before you do change it, it could be just the valve/washer (whatever is inside it). What happens if you change the volume of water going through it? I'm thinking if it's the faucet then less water should produce a slower jolt. Oo - something else to check - does it have a screen to collect debris inside the faucet? That can cause odd problems if it's partially blocked (been there, done that, worn the sopping wet t-shirt).

[Hopes]

I don't believe it's the valve/washer. The jolt disappears with less water.

Not sure about a debris screen. I'll have to check it out tonight when I'm home.

[Hopes]

You're right, Jennifer.

The 15 count jolt is when the hot water is turned on fully. If I add cold water, increasing the water supply, it becomes a 5 count jolt.

AND now the hand spray nozzle jumps when it jolts with a little water spraying out at the side seams.

If I don't keep the water on full blast, it doesn't jolt and there's no leak.

I suspect that is temporary, and eventually it's going to completely break so I'll start shopping for a new faucet.

Thanks for your help!

[jenniferprestia]

Good luck with your search for a new faucet - I always get sticker shock when I look for those.

Ah the joys of DIY plumbing - I discovered one of my basement valves is drip, drip, dripping yesterday so replacing that is my next task. I'm sure it's original to the house (1967) so I also need to do the rest of them as well.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by Hopes

You're right, Jennifer.

The 15 count jolt is when the hot water is turned on fully. If I add cold water, increasing the water supply, it becomes a 5 count jolt.

AND now the hand spray nozzle jumps when it jolts with a little water spraying out at the side seams.

If I don't keep the water on full blast, it doesn't jolt and there's no leak.

I suspect that is temporary, and eventually it's going to completely break so I'll start shopping for a new faucet.

Thanks for your help!

You might not need a new faucet -- just get new parts for the ball assembly. Pretty easy fix. Just make sure you turn off the water supply under the sink....

And I would first unscrew the aerator on the faucet end. Those cause all sorts of problems when they get gritty.

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

You might not need a new faucet -- just get new parts for the ball assembly. Pretty easy fix. Just make sure you turn off the water supply under the sink....

Funny, I just fixed my single-lever kitchen faucet last week, I turned off the cold,but as I soon found out, not the hot. When I loosened the retaining cap, I had quite a geyser on my hands! I was impressed with my water pressure, I pressure washed my kitchen ceiling for a few seconds before diving under the sink to turn off the hot!! Luckily noone else was home to hear the stream of high speed profanity that ensued...