We moved into a 40+ year old house and did some remodeling on our own. In the kitchen we installed a new countertop, sink and faucet. The faucet wat...
We moved into a 40+ year old house and did some remodeling on our own. In the kitchen we installed a new countertop, sink and faucet. The faucet water pressure starts out OK and then dwindles to a trickle after some use. After a bunch of trial and error I figured out that the problem was in the valve of the faucet (forgive me if my terminology is off). It’s a 3-hole Moen faucet (one hole has the handle, one the faucet spout and the third is the sprayer).
Inside the faucet is a brass valve with three holes. One leads to the faucet, one connects to a hose for the sprayer and one is the inlet for the water from the handle. When I disconnect this valve, the water pressure from the inlet hose is very strong, so I know the problem is in the valve itself. I basically take the valve outside and spray it through with a garden hose sprayer. That seems to solve the problem as I then reassemble the faucet and water flows well. But, again, after some use (1-3 weeks?) it eventually slows to a trickle and I have to repeat the process.
I know that the underlying cause is our galvanized piping. We get a lot of the rusty granulated stuff in our aerators and I’m almost sure that is what is gumming up the valve.
OK, given all of that information, is there anything I can do to avoid taking the faucet apart every couple of weeks other than re-piping the whole house? Is there a better faucet/valve that would be more resistant to this clogging?
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