Low or no water from bathroom faucet

[757Driver]

Folks probably know this but ...... I had very low water pressure (a dribble) coming out of our bathroom faucet. At first, I thought it to be our water pump or air in the lines. Further investigation water was coming out of the kitchen sink and shower with no problems. I used a pair of pliers and removed the faucet tap by unscrewing the fitting where the water comes out. Sure enough, there was some kind of "gunk" that was preventing the water from coming out. After I cleaned out the "gunk" it was back up and "running." Maybe this will help someone out without making costly repairs and time.

 

[Mr. Dan]

Yes, do a search for “Aerator” which is the correct term for what you’re calling the ‘faucet tap’. You’ll see how often this issue/solution is mentioned here.

 

[lineman1234]

Yep, i had that this past spring. I came back north early, as i usually dont from the south. The bathroom sink was fine, but when i un-winterized, the flow was very very low. Took off little plastic screen, cleaned it and all good.

 

[Willhound]

Very common. I used to remove the aerators and clean the screen regularly....until I realized they didn't really make a difference and I just left the screens out and put the decorative pieces back. I also removed the water saver restrictors from my shower hose and handle. Just have to realize you'll use more water. We're on a full time site with city water, so no issue.
And since I've now also installed a decent filter system the plugged aerators and showerhead are no longer a problem anyway...

 

[5picker]

Aerators can plug up from many different sources. Certainly the water source could be an issue and an external, inline filter will help that.
But... the most common reason for the aerator(s) clogging up, is draining the water system via the low point drains WITHOUT FIRST putting the water heater in bypass.
The suction of the low point drains pulls "crud" back into the lines through the fill/mixing tube in the water heater where some of that "crud" remains and then gets redistributed throughout the plumbing on repressurization, finally collecting in the aerators and the toilet valve screen.

Don't believe me?... Look how close the cold water fill/mixing tube sits to the bottom of a water heater tank. (photo taken through the anode/drain bung)

 

[bikendan]

Folks probably know this but ...... I had very low water pressure (a dribble) coming out of our bathroom faucet. At first, I thought it to be our water pump or air in the lines. Further investigation water was coming out of the kitchen sink and shower with no problems. I used a pair of pliers and removed the faucet tap by unscrewing the fitting where the water comes out. Sure enough, there was some kind of "gunk" that was preventing the water from coming out. After I cleaned out the "gunk" it was back up and "running." Maybe this will help someone out without making costly repairs and time.

This is very common and comes up at least once a week on the Forum.
There are hundreds of threads about this on the Forum.

Glad you were able to find the problem and it's a good reminder for newbies.

All faucet aerators should be checked on any new RV. That's why I advise new owners to have the dealer make sure that the new RV is hooked up to water, for the PDI/walk-through. That way you can check water flow before accepting the RV.

 

[Larry-NC]

Folks probably know this but ...... I had very low water pressure (a dribble) coming out of our bathroom faucet. At first, I thought it to be our water pump or air in the lines. Further investigation water was coming out of the kitchen sink and shower with no problems. I used a pair of pliers and removed the faucet tap by unscrewing the fitting where the water comes out. Sure enough, there was some kind of "gunk" that was preventing the water from coming out. After I cleaned out the "gunk" it was back up and "running." Maybe this will help someone out without making costly repairs and time.

It's not low water pressure. The pressure is the same everywhere in the RV. The issue is low water flow.

Furthermore, the cause is generally because someone foolishly opened the low point drains without first bypassing the water heater. All the calcification that occurs when water is heated gets sucked into the water system. This typically happens in the fall when someone carelessly does winterization, but is not detected until the spring when dewinterization takes place.