Losing Hot Water Pressure

[JulieMor]

For some reason the hot water pressure at our kitchen sink dropped to a slow flow. Everywhere else, it's fine. The faucet is a Kohler K-596. I was able to install it myself but I have no idea about the inner workings.

Any ideas why the hot water flow is so restricted?

 

[DFBonnett]

Is the shut off valve for the hot water to the faucet fully open? Are there any kinks in the line from the shut off to the faucet?

 

[JulieMor]

Shut off valve is open. I've turned it fully from open to closed and back to make sure it isn't frozen. There are no kinks in any of the lines. It's as if there was some blockage in the water line itself.

We have a similar problem in one of the showers but in that case it's the cold water that's the problem and there is no flow at all. That shower, however, is rarely used. The kitchen sink faucet is used all the time but one day, after we discovered the cold water zero-flow in the shower, the kitchen faucet hot water flow dropped to about half.

Does that faucet have a cartridge in it that might be blocked?

 

[journeyman]

Sounds like bad cartridges to me. Kohler can send you the replacement

 

[JulieMor]

I went through the process of elimination. I got to the valve and took it apart - no blockages. I checked the flow at the hot water stop - no problems there either. The only thing left was the check valves. There is one each for hot and cold water.

I pulled the faucet and removed the flex connectors to access the check valves. They looked different. The cold water had a white plastic disk. The hot water had a black piece of rubber that looked like it had been pushed into the opening. I pushed it back and it looked like the opening was now clear. What happened to the white plastic disk? I have no idea. I just know on Kohler's exploded view, both check valves are the same.

Since I didn't have a replacement check valve, I put it all back together and the hot water flows fine now. I'm ordering a new check valve (2) and when it happens again, I'll replace it then.

Thanks for the help,
Julie