My Faucet Fiasco, No Plumber Needed

I have had a problem with the faucets in each of my 3 bathrooms for a long time now. The faucet problem has been with me so long that I can't remember when I didn't have the problem. I was about to finally break down and call a plumber, spending more money than I would want to spend, and taking a chance on getting flashed with plumber crack. Thankfully, I have a smart neighbor lady next door. She is handy, one of those, "I can fix anything" types. These are the good kind of neighbors to have when you are a non-handy person like me.

I'm going to share my embarrassing faucet problem and my inadequacies as a handy-type woman, because it may prevent you from the same embarrassment. Here's the thing, my bathroom sink faucets had steadily lost water pressure. In fact, they not only lost water pressure but also started making a strange; "thump, thump, thump, thump" sound when I turned the water on. It didn't matter whether I was turning on the cold water or the hot water. I would turn it half way and start hearing the loud thumping sound and the water would start to slow. It drove me crazy.

This continued for many months, maybe even a year or so, with me living in denial and thinking about how I would pay for a huge plumber bill. I had mentioned the problem to my neighbor a while back, which raised my minor fear to major league level. She sent shivers through my bones when she said that I might have air in my pipes and that it would be really bad if that was the case. So what did I do? I immediately assumed she was right and decided to ignore the problem and avoid a plumber. That's how grown ups handle these things right? Yeah, ok, I should know better. It's not easy to run a house by yourself, especially when you are they type of person who gets vertigo on ladders, and doesn't really know what a "valve" is.

Wait, maybe a few of you don't know about the water valves under your faucet sinks? I knew there were some handles down there, I just didn't know exactly what they were for, and so I never touched them. Because of my lack of knowledge about a basic plumbing instrument, the water valves, I lived with a problem for over a year that ultimately took 3 minutes to fix. I brought my neighbor into my house and turned one of the sink faucets on for her. She witnessed the problem and then bent down, and loosened the water flow valves. She even said, with a smirk I might add, "Righty tighty, lefty loosey!" Of course I needed explanation, and it turns out all my poor faucet sinks needed was more water pressure flowing through the pipes. When you loosen the valves, it opens the pipe to more water. It was just that simple; my big problem was only a small one.

If you have the same problem, low water pressure and/or funky noises coming from your faucets, before you freak out, just check the water flow valves under the sink. This is a likely culprit for the faucet problem. It's a common problem but if the valves are not your issue, you could have a blockage of debris or sediment in your faucet. The tips of most new faucets have a part called an "aerator tip". You can remove this part and clear out any debris, then simply slip it back on. Doing that should assist with improving your water flow. Another problem that could be a little more costly is a leak through a cracked or damaged pipe. If you are the handy type you may be able to fix that yourself, but me, I'd have to call the plumber. And this time, I really would handle it and not ignore it!

Source: Writers personal experience
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