Nothing is as wonderful as an excellent tool at the hand of an expert.
Does this sound like a cliché to you? If yes, then it is a no-brainer and more so if your work is more engaging to the mind and the brain more than your hands.
However, ask that cook, chef, or even a house manager whose works is purely dependent on better and efficient tools such as a kitchen faucet sprayer. They have a better grasp of what it means to have excellent or even faulty ones.
One of the tools used in a kitchen is a faucet which often comes in different types and designs. For most of them, they are installed with sprayers that make it very fast and efficient to wash utensils, clean fruits, and vegetables, or wash different food items.
The kitchen faucet sprayer is also excellent for keeping the sink sparkling clean especially for very large households.
However, a faulty faucet sprayer is one of the greatest nightmares for kitchen users whether for commercial or domestic purposes. And there could be several reasons for its faultiness that could lead to constant dripping of water and in return a messy house or cause other greater damages.
In this article, we will provide you with some of the practical steps one can use to fix a faulty kitchen faucet sprayer.
Diagnose the problem first
There was once a man whose ship got stuck while sailing because of a faultiness in his engine. Just like everyone else would when in problems, he called a number of his friends and sought-after great mechanics but none of them was able to diagnose the problem.
Every morning, day after day he kept getting different people until he eventually gave up all hope of ever making it. However, a friend challenged and advised him on the importance of seeking the opinion of an expert and not just any other mechanic.
The sailor did as he was advised and when the expert came, it took him close to half an hour simply checking every part of the engine and trying to diagnose the issue. However, the most shocking thing was that it took him only five minutes to actually fix the troublesome engine.
The greatest lesson we can pick from this story is that it's easy to treat a problem once it's known. Different kitchen faucet sprayers may have varying challenges ranging from blockages, clogging, leakages, rusting, or even wearing out. Before fixing any sprayer, it is key to take time and identify the source problem and only act after gaining sufficient knowledge.
Begin by opening the faucet sprayer and carefully examining it. Do so constantly until you discover the problem and later on seek to treat each challenge individually and appropriately. If bad comes to worst, It is important to seek the help of an expert as you do this and especially if you have no knowledge of faucet sprayers.
Use of solvents
Kitchen Faucet Sprayers can become stuck on spray mode because of mineral build-up and particularly so on the spray head. Such can be as a result of hard water or areas that experiences flooding and clogging and some dirt might leak and clog the system.
There are different solvents such as vinegar that are specifically designed to help break and remove all kinds of mineral build-up.
However, some of these solvents might require time to work on the mineral and therefore one may need to remove the spray heads and all the sieves and soak them for some time before they can finally see some tangible differences.
For those who might not have the time to remove the different parts and soak them, one can simply dip a brush in vinegar and clean out all the accessible areas that might be clogged. This is particularly effective and especially in cleaning out big debris.
Replacement of worn-out parts
A Kitchen faucet sprayer can be having leakages due to broken pipes, worn out lever and spray, and sometimes a broken O-ring. These parts and the rings are prone to wearing out easily especially after their prolonged use but often their repair is easy and cost-effective compared to the replacement of the entire faucet sprayer.
If the parts are worn out, one should buy new ones and later on find an affordable plumber to replace them. Some of the pipes and even the rings are easy to fix and one can do it on their own if armed with the necessary instructions and information.
However, special caution must be paid especially when screwing and unscrewing different parts so as not to cause further damage.
For those who do not have any knowledge of assembling different parts of the kitchen faucet sprayer, it is better to use the help of an expert and prevent more damage instead of doing it by oneself. It is better to pay a small cost to assemble than a greater cost to repair or buy new parts because of avoidable damage.
Control the water pressure
Sometimes a faucet sprayer can have issues because of the water pressure which can either be low or high.
For those having issues with high pressure, the sprayer might often bang once the water is switched on.
Such a problem can be solved by making use of the shut-off valves often located under the sink. These are important to help lower the pressure and the faucet is shielded from jolting once the diverter has been turned on.
As for challenges that are related to low pressure and the water faucet spray is having only a little flow of water, one can first ensure that the aerators are not clogged by cleaning them and removing all garbage and debris.
If the low pressure is due to the water source or corroded pipes then one might need to replace the kitchen faucet sprayer diverter valve with smaller ones to control the pressure and sometimes there might be a need to first replace all the corroded pipes.
Sometimes low pressure can be caused by low water supply from the providers and therefore it is important to find out if this could be the cause. If so, then one should sort the issues with the suppliers and not the kitchen sprayer.
Fix the pull-out faucet that might be defaulted or retracting
Sometimes a kitchen faucet sprayer might be faulty in that its functioning is damaged in one way or another or could be old and in need of repairs.
However, one can have a functional faucet but it is not retracting either because the expected weight has fallen off, and instead of it being stable due to gravity then the lightweight makes it be pulled in another direction and it retracts.
Often one of the fastest ways to fix such a problem is to make sure that the sink and the faucet are firmly attached and if not, then reposition them by adjusting the weight until both are fixed in a perfect place. This can be done easily with the help of a screwdriver.
One can also correct the retracting by adjusting the faucet spray hose usually done by moving the valves up and down constantly until it's untangled from the water pipe. However, this is only possible if the retracting is caused by tangled faucet hoses and not the expected weight-related issues.
Use of a magnet ring
It is not unusual to have a faucet body or even a spout that does not sit properly on the cradle and more so for a cheap kitchen faucet sprayer.
To make the kitchen faucet sprayers more affordable, companies usually produce low quality whose models and make do not use magnets and therefore after a short duration, these faucet sprayers may become faulty.
However, for quality and durable models, most faucet sprayers are installed with magnets that are designed in such a way that the body and the spout can sit on the cradle for longer and in a perfect position.
The only solution to a cheap product is simply by replacing it with a better even though more expensive one but with assured good quality. For those with quality models, the faulty magnets can just be replaced with a new magnet ring.
Usually, this can be done at home. Ensure that you have closed the source of water and then proceed to unscrew and remove the nozzle and let loose the hose from one side of the spindle. After that, it is then possible to remove the old magnet ring from one end of the spindle and replace it with a new one.
However, caution should be taken to ensure that all parts are well fitted and when one is not well versed, a manual that contains instructions can be useful or one can make good use of the help of an expert.
Replace old kitchen faucet sprayer with new ones
Sometimes it can be very costly to keep buying different parts of a kitchen faucet sprayer and especially when it keeps breaking down every now and then or when it is old enough.
One of the most obvious ways of fixing a kitchen faucet sprayer is simply replacing it with a new one. It helps sometimes to save cost and time spent to find different spare parts and to look for a plumber to fix it.
However, it is important to know the cost before making a solid decision and instead of investing in a cheap new faucet sprayer, it is better to have an old and quality one. The choice however is highly dependent on the owner and their budget.
Something to ponder on;
Whether you like it or not, having a faulty and malfunctioning kitchen faucet sprayer is a common thing and one will experience it from time to time regardless of the quality, type, or even design.
However, most of these problems are very minor and can be fixed in a blink of an eye even by amateurs who may not necessarily have skill or prowess in plumbing.
The key to having it easy with your kitchen faucet sprayer is simply by accessing the problem and then making a decision based on your time and finances on whether to replace the faulty parts or to simply buy a new one.
It is also important to always ask for an expert opinion before making a considerable investment whether repairing or replacing. It is said a man of many advisors suffers less.
