Kitch Sink H2O Pressure Mystery

[Joan6009]

hello gurus-

What would you say to this???

My kitchen faucet water pressure has recently taken a turn to the Betty Ford Clinic-- been sucking like an addict with a nose full of cocaine.

Here's the strange symptom though: the water pressure on the faucet is awful but the pressure on the sprayer is GREAT! In fact, when i use the sprayer, the EXACT SAME amount of water comes out through the faucet but the sprayer pops out water like Kevin Federline pops out children. (in other words-- a LOT.)

what could be causing the faucet to lose pressure, but the sprayer to behave like a rock star??? and how do i fix it?

I have a feeling i can pretty much fix anything, i just don't know where to start.

Thank YOU in advance.
- Joan

[LazyPup]

This one is gonna be so simple your probably going to be mad for not thinking of it yourself.

Take the aerator off the tip of the faucett then dissassemble it and rinse the screens out.

[Joan6009]

Thank you so much for your reply... i REALLY appreciate it but guess what?? That did not work. In fact, I removed the entire nozzle only to be met with the less- than stellar pressure.

Thanks so much for writing back though.

[HayZee518]

look under the sink where the pipes are. the sprayer should be coming out of the bottom of the fixture near the center. imagine the fixture to be like a cross. water comes in the two side arms, one line goes up ( faucet) and the other goes down (sprayer) the two water lines meet a ball via two spring loaded rubber seats. when you go to hot there's a hole in the ball that diverts water to the upper arm and lower arm for flow to go. same with the cold. for a mix part of the cold is exposed and part of the hot is exposed. shut off the supply and take apart the faucet till you see the spring loaded seats. turn on the water hot then cold a little bit to flush anything inside the valve, make sure the seats don't pop out. putting them back is no biggie. then take the ball and run a pipe cleaner through the holes. then put everything back the way you removed it. take special care to see the small pin coming out the ball lines up with the recess in the valve body. snug everything up and try the faucet.

[Joan6009]

Well, my faucet is top-mounted and although I tried my best, I was unable to see how to disassemble it. I removed it but was unable to get anywhere inside. Shucks! It was a cheapie Glacier Bay so maybe it's not made to be taken apart. Heck, I don't know. Guess I may have to try a new one.

Thanks so much for your reply though. I appreciate it.

[HayZee518]

the handle fastens with an allen wrench screw from the back or bottom. should be able to pull it off then. the chrome top unscrews counter-clockwise. this exposes the guts of the top of the vavle. there should be two notches in the brass piece that screws down to hold the thing together. unscrew this and the plastic assembly should come out.