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I have two knobs, and one faucet, in my bathroom sink. Both hot and cold slowed to a dribble at the same time. I was brushing my teeth, hot water running, then heard a "pop" sound and the water immediately slowed to a very small stream. I turned it off then on, and tried the cold water, but both seem to have been affected. No other sinks/faucets in the house seem to be affected. We have two sinks and faucets in our master bath...only mine was affected.

Filter screen is clear. And it's not like it slowed gradually over time, but all at once after the pop sound I heard.

Thoughts?

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  • I'd buy and fit a new faucet. Dismantling and fixing broken faucets isn't a process I'd be optimistic about, but that's the alternative.
    – RedGrittyBrick
    Oct 13, 2014 at 9:31
  • Maybe both pipes broke / burst at the same time? Unlikely in all probability, but something to check perhaps?
    – alt
    Oct 13, 2014 at 11:05

3 Answers 3

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OK...I'm embarrassed. I know I said it wasn't the filter, because every three months I take of the filters and clean them with vinegar.

I went ahead and took out the aerator assembly, and there was what looked like very thin plastic stuck in the hole in the center, blocking all water from coming through.

A few years ago I saw similar material in my shower faucet when I was replacing it.

All I can imagine is that some type of coating is flaking off from the PVC pipes (house is 15 years old). Is that possible??

Thanks to all for the responses...gives me some material for future issues as the home ages. :-)

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Do you have shutoff valves for the sink exhibiting the problem? These are likely under the sink hidden in a cabinet.

  • If so, turn them off and remove the hot and cold water hoses from the faucet's end.

  • With each end of the hose in a bucket, test the water supply by turning on the shutoff valve.

  • If you get flow, then the issue is with the faucet fixture.

  • If you didn't get a flow from the sink supply, then you will need to find the problem closer to the water heater and water service from the utility company.

That both hot and cold stopped working at the same time, only for that fixture most likely is due to the faucet's regulator having a problem. If it's a nice faucet, it may be worth servicing, otherwise this might be the perfect opportunity to replace the faucet with a new one.

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Any chance you're using Watts FloodSafe supply lines? They look like this.

enter image description here

They're special supply lines that have a shutoff device that will shut off the flow of water if the flow rate increases beyond a specified rate. If that's the case, turn off the water supply valves, disconnect the supply lines at the point where it connects to the valve (not under the faucet) then connect them again. That will reset them.

While you have the supply lines disconnected, open up each supply valve to see if the flow is restricted in the piping. If you have an extra supply line and a bucket to keep from getting water everywhere that would help. If the water seems to flow normally then at least you know the problem is either either in the supply lines or the faucet. Very unusual for both the hot and cold supply valves or for both cartridges in the faucet to fail at the same time though.

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  • This is a good idea (+1), but would be surprised to see both hot and cold fail simultaneously. If you read Michael's self answer, you'll see the problem was a blocked aerator.
    – BMitch ♦
    Oct 14, 2014 at 12:46

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