Lost water pressure? ? ?

[Ray]

We live in a six-unit apartment building, three identical units stacked on each side. We were among the hardest hit cities by the February snow storms and got a fair amount of damage.

During the storm, a single bathroom sink faucet seemed to lose almost all water pressure. Now, more than a month after the storm, that faucet emits barely a trickle of water, hot or cold.

I pointed this out to the insurance adjuster, and he was adamant that this was not covered.

Any ideas what's causing this isolated loss of pressure, and what to do about it?

[Red Green]

"Ray" wrote in news:5JPnn.40019$ [e-mail]:

You've run it after removing the aerator with the same result?

[salty]

What kind of damage did your building sustain, and was any other plumbing affected at any time between then and now?

[Bob F]

You need to clean the aerator on that faucet.

[harry]

Could be a lump of corrosion has been displacd by freezinf and has got lodged somewhere. Could well be in the faucet.

[Frank]

Who ever owns the apartment should look at it. Years ago, I had a pipe freeze and break. Insurance would not cover the plumbing repair but did apply to water damage.

As others suggest, your aerator may be plugged. If water is shut off and pipes drain somewhat, water can be murky from junk in pipes when it comes back on.

[Mikepier]

Does the shower and toilet have good water pressure? If so, you have something lodged in the aerator.

[Steve B]

I have had this situation fifty times. The suggestion I am going to write may seem obvious, but it was the REAL problems dozens of times.

Clean the sprayer screen if it has one. From there, look at the seats, and see if they are blocked with scale that gets dislodged during construction or freeze/thaw cycles. The fastest, easiest, cheapest fix. Once you have eliminated that, good luck.

Steve

[Steve B]

Let us know what you find.

Steve B, the real one

[Stormin Mormon]

It sure would be nice to know what the problem was. So we can learn from their situation.

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Tue 16 Mar 2010 11:02:43a, Ray told us...

If you rent the apartment it would normally the responsibility of the owner or management company to remedy the problem. In that case, your insurance adjuster is correct. It would not be their responsibility. I wouldn't even bother trying to fix it myself or arrange for having it fixed. Call whomever you rented the apartment from.

[salty]

Maybe, or maybe not. He still hasn'tgiven ANY details of the "damage" he mentioned. For all we know, a pipe elsewhere in the building broke and someone ran around turning off any valves they could find to try and shut it off. The hidden one leading to his sink might have been turned off, and not turned back on. Especially in older buildings. things get modified over time, and there could easily be a valve some where you wouldn't normally expect to find one.

We just don't know until he gives us the rest of the story.

[Ray]

Sorry to be late getting back.

The problem was indeed the aerator.

Thanks to all for the answers.

By the way, we are not rental but a coop apartment building, occupied mostly by middle-age and elderly. And there was no plumbing damage other than the faucet that went to a trickle during the snowstorm.

-- Ray