Service
Kitchen Faucet Repair
Repairing kitchen taps, including pull-out sprays that will not retract, weak flow from a blocked aerator, and leaks from the base rather than the spout.
- Licensed and insured
- Price agreed before work
- A plumber who works your area
Check the aerator before anything else
If the flow is weak at the kitchen tap and normal everywhere else in the house, the problem is at that outlet.
The aerator is the small screen at the tip of the spout. It catches sediment, scale and debris that comes through the pipework, and it gradually chokes.
It unscrews by hand or with a cloth and pliers. Rinse it, and if it is furred with mineral deposits, soak it in descaler overnight.
It costs nothing, takes five minutes, and solves a large share of kitchen tap complaints before anyone opens a cabinet.
The two kitchen-specific faults
A kitchen tap has two things a bathroom tap does not, and they account for most of the rest.
The pull-out spray that will not retract. There is a counterweight clipped to the hose under the sink and it is what draws the head back into the spout. If it slips down the hose, falls off, or the hose snags on something stored in the cabinet, the spray simply hangs. Clear the cabinet, check the hose runs free, reposition the weight.
Water at the base while running. On a swivel spout there is an O-ring sealing where the spout meets the body. It wears, and when it fails water escapes at the base during use and stops the moment the tap is closed. It looks like the tap has failed. It is a cheap ring and half an hour.
Does this sound familiar?
Problems this service solves
- A pull-out spray head that will not retract
- Weak flow from a kitchen tap only
- Water leaking from the base of the tap when it runs
- A spray head that drips after the tap is closed
- A handle that has become stiff or loose
Signs you need kitchen faucet repair
If more than one of these is true, the problem is usually past the point a plunger or a store-bought cleaner will fix.
- The spray hose hangs rather than pulling back
- Flow is poor at this tap but fine elsewhere
- Water appears around the base during use
- The spray keeps running briefly after shutoff
What to expect
How the visit works
Clean the aerator first
Weak flow at one tap is almost always a blocked aerator, and it takes minutes to check before anything else is considered.
Check the hose and weight
A pull-out spray retracts because of a weight on the hose under the sink. If it has slipped or the hose is catching, the spray stops returning.
Deal with base leaks
Water at the base while running is usually a worn O-ring where the spout swivels, not a failure of the tap itself.
Replace the cartridge if needed
A drip or a stiff handle is a cartridge. Most models have them available, and it is a far smaller job than replacing the tap.
What's included
What you get on every job, whoever we send.
- Aerator checked before anything is dismantled
- Spray retraction diagnosed at the weight, not the head
- Base leaks traced to the swivel O-ring
- Cartridge replacement considered before replacement of the tap
Questions
Kitchen Faucet Repair questions
My pull-out spray will not go back in. Why?
Usually the weight. There is a counterweight clipped to the hose under the sink, and it is what pulls the spray head back into the spout when you let go. If it has slipped down the hose, come off entirely, or the hose is catching on something in the cabinet, the spray hangs out and will not retract. Clearing the cabinet, checking the hose runs free and repositioning the weight fixes most of these in a few minutes.
Flow is weak at the kitchen tap but fine everywhere else. What is that?
The aerator, in the overwhelming majority of cases. It is the small screen at the tip of the spout, and it catches sediment, mineral scale and debris from the pipework. Because the problem is at that one outlet, nothing else in the house is affected. Unscrewing it, rinsing it out and soaking it in descaler if it is furred up usually restores full flow, and it is worth doing before anyone diagnoses anything more serious.
Water appears around the base when the tap runs. Is the tap finished?
Probably not. On a tap with a spout that swivels, there is an O-ring sealing where the spout meets the body, and it wears with use. When it goes, water escapes at the base while the tap is running and stops when it is off, which looks alarming and is a cheap part. It is worth checking before deciding to replace a perfectly serviceable tap.
Related services
Faucet Repair
Repair and replacement of dripping, leaking, low-pressure and stiff kitchen, bathroom, tub, shower and outdoor faucets, including cartridge and valve work.
See what this coversFaucet Replacement
Replacing a worn or failed tap, including removing one that has corroded into place and dealing with what is found underneath.
See what this coversUnder Sink Leak Repair
Fixing leaks in the cabinet under a sink, where supply valves, flexible connectors, trap joints and the sink seal all fail in different ways.
See what this coversWater Heater Repair
Diagnosis and repair of gas, electric and tankless water heaters, including no-hot-water calls, leaks, pilot problems and sediment flushing.
See what this covers
Get it fixed
Kitchen Faucet Repair, handled locally
Call with your ZIP code and what you are seeing. We route you to a licensed plumber in your area who does kitchen faucet repair every week.
- Licensed and insured
- Answered 24/7
- Price before work