Bathroom Faucet slow water flow

[Trainman]

Our 2019 Elite II has worked fine and no water problems until this last week. After setup at a campsite I was called to the bathroom to see why the bath faucet was running slow, or very little water flow. After checking all the other water flow accessories in the trailer, sink, outside shower, toilet all appeared to work as they should, but the bath faucet was running very slow and no water pressure to speak of. I have now checked the shower/sink head and the flow is not blocked in the head, I also removed the head and the flow out of the hose is also very slow and no pressure. I guess my next place to look is to remove the cartridge and see if there is any blockage there. Since both the hot and cold flow the same I would think that both the hot line and the cold line would not both have equal blockage in the two separate lines. I always heard of scrap plastic from new construction getting into the lines and stopping water flow, could this be the problem. One thing here, it worked just fine two weeks ago and this week we have this problem, any suggestions would be helpful, before I tear into it, thanks.

trainman

[SeaDawg]

Definitely not plumbing expert here, but I'll bump this with a few questions  

Everything is working fine, except the bathroom sink faucet?

If that's so, I'd remove the faucet aerator, and soak it in vinegar. While that's soaking, run it without the aerator.  If it's still lame, it's probably the cartridge, if flow is lame both hot and cold sides. It's the only thing in between you, and good flow .

Really sorry for your troubles.  

Maybe someone else has better ideas.

 

[Trainman]

SeaDawg, I did  change out my outside shower head with the bath head and the flow was the same, so I guess now is the time to remove the cartridge and see if it is clogged, or broken inside. I can't help but think that some plastic, or other foreign matter from manufacturing is plugging the line somewhere and I would think since it is both lines it would be at the sink cartridge. I will also look and the water diagram and see if there could be anyother place that would affect the flow. Thanks for your input.

trainman

[Trainman]

Well since no one would answer my question, I looked farther into it and fixed the problem myself, sorry I can't tell you what I did, it's requires two hours of work and every tool I own, haha

trainman 

[dbp05ret]

Trainman,

2018 Oliver Elite 2. Woke up this morning and low water pressure in bathroom on both city water and freshwater. Kitchen sink is normal. Any advice?

 

Thanks, Darryl

[VBistro]

What is the temperature where you are camped?  The bathroom is usually the coldest place in the camper, and if you didn't have the heater on overnight, or didn't keep the bathroom door open, is it possible that the lines in there froze?  Longshot, but you never know.

[dbp05ret]

76 degrees 

[Mike and Carol]

5 hours ago, dbp05ret said:

Trainman,

2018 Oliver Elite 2. Woke up this morning and low water pressure in bathroom on both city water and freshwater. Kitchen sink is normal. Any advice?

We had the same issue a few years ago.  Check for plastic bits or hard water debri in the faucet filter and in the line behind the toilet.  Mike

[Frank C]

I’ve had the same problem with mine but it seems related to the use of either vinegar for sanitizing or the winterizing solution.   I think some of the rubber seals in the faucet head are affected/swell up from exposure to the chemicals, reducing the flow.  I just replaced the sprayer head and problem solved.   Cheap and easy fix.  

Dura Faucet RV Kitchen Faucet Designer Toggling Pull-Out Sprayer Replacement - for Dura Faucet Faucets Only (Brushed Satin Nickel) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009Y06H3Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5WEG1XNWRCRX50546YVP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[BigTexas]

I had the same problem with poor flow.  Additionally, I had a constant weeping of water from under the handle.   I tried the process where you run vinegar through the lines and let it soak.  No improvement.  I purchased a new cartridge and attempted to change out the old one thinking a bit of debris was the problem.  I couldn't find any instructions on the web of how to disassemple this type of faucet.  For the life of me, I couldn't get the old cartridge out even with the correct faucet socket.  (I think someone over tightened the cartridge retension ring in an attempt to stop the weeping)   I eventually removed and replaced the entire faucet assemply which fixed both problems. 

Hopefully you're not faced with replacement.  If you are, there are some things to note. The shower head hose which Oliver provides   is clad in chromed metal and is much nicer.  The replacement faucet, I ordered off the web, came with a vinyl hose.   The Oliver hose is also shorter.  This is presumably because there are two long bolts down in the cavity under the sink.  A longer hose could easily get caught on these bolts and therefore not deploy long enough to be used as a shower.  My (not so elegant) solution was to place zip ties across the end of the bolts to keep the hose from getting between the bolts.  In hindsight, I should have contacted Oliver to see if I could order the faucet from them but I defaulted to Amazon and had the new faucet in two days.   But, I now have a full flowing shower.

[dbp05ret]

14 minutes ago, FrankC said:

I’ve had the same problem with mine but it seems related to the use of either vinegar for sanitizing or the winterizing solution.   I think some of the rubber seals in the faucet head are affected/swell up from exposure to the chemicals, reducing the flow.  I just replaced the sprayer head and problem solved.   Cheap and easy fix.  

Dura Faucet RV Kitchen Faucet Designer Toggling Pull-Out Sprayer Replacement - for Dura Faucet Faucets Only (Brushed Satin Nickel) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009Y06H3Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5WEG1XNWRCRX50546YVP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

Frank,

Does the hose just twist off with a bit of effort at the faucet?  

 

D

[Frank C]

24 minutes ago, dbp05ret said:

Frank,

Does the hose just twist off with a bit of effort at the faucet?  

 

D

Yes, no tools needed.  

[dbp05ret]

On 12/28/2021 at 1:06 PM, Mike and Carol said:

We had the same issue a few years ago.  Check for plastic bits or hard water debri in the faucet filter and in the line behind the toilet.  Mike

The water pressure in toilet is great. Where and how does one get to the faucet filter? I pulled the faucet and it appears to have a decent flow I am going to order new faucet off of Amazon as soon as I get to a good delivery area. Thanks, Darryl

[Mike and Carol]

17 minutes ago, dbp05ret said:

The water pressure in toilet is great. Where and how does one get to the faucet filter? I pulled the faucet and it appears to have a decent flow I am going to order new faucet off of Amazon as soon as I get to a good delivery area. Thanks, Darryl

I’m not sure what bathroom faucet you have.  The one on our trailer was replaced in 2018, I think.  If you have a decent flow then you should be good.  Mike

[DaveWilkins]

We too have had water system woes,,,   2019 E2, new to us summer of '21.  We are the 3rd owners of a 3 yr old trailer and have so far had problems with low flow at each of the faucets and the toilet.  The toilet was first and we found calcium deposits in the valve.  Cleaned them out and finished the trip with good flow.  Got home and flushed the fresh water tank with good water (not hard), cleaned the filter at the pump and found it not clogged but removed maybe 1/2 teaspoon of debris, both plastic and mineral. 

Removed the anode from the water heater and found it was totally consumed.  Flushed the water heater and got LOTS of calcium deposits out.  I believe this was the first time the anode had been removed.  Also at this time I flushed the system with vinegar using the winterizing setup.

Next we lost flow to the outside shower hot faucet.  Contacted Oliver and asked for a replacement cartridge, they didn't have the part or know of how to find one, ended up buying a new complete outdoor shower assembly with the box, hose and shower head; about $75,,, used the faucet in our old box so if you need a box, I can help

Next we lost flow to the kitchen faucet and was not in the mood for Oliver service so I went to Lowe's and got a Delta and replaced the original with one I could get parts for.

Next we lost flow to the bathroom faucet hot and cold and finished the trip with the faucet head removed.  We had good flow thru the faucet itself so we washed hands and showered with a good stream from the bare hose.  It actually worked ok.  In these forums I saw the faucet was made by Dura Faucets, contacted them and got a link to amazon, bought a replacement  shower head for $12.03.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090W2SOU?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

So at this point we think we have this solved and I think at this time the reason for all this was that our trailer had been full of extremely hard water all it's life and had never been maintained.  Here in the DFW area we have pretty good water in comparison but most places we travel to have hard or extremely hard water.  So the takeaway is, while your faucets are working is to flush with good water when you can and decriminalize with vinegar regularly.

Good luck, Ya'll,

Dave

 

[Mike and Carol]

3 hours ago, DaveWilkins said:

Removed the anode from the water heater and found it was totally consumed.  Flushed the water heater and got LOTS of calcium deposits out.  I believe this was the first time the anode had been removed.  Also at this time I flushed the system with vinegar using the winterizing setup.

We had similar issues with hard water deposits.  We now travel with a water softener.  I just changed out the anode in the hot water tank and it was completely consumed.  It’s been about 2.5 years, should have done it a year earlier.  The last time I changed it was after 18 months and there was still about 30% left.  18-24 months is probably about right.  I also flushed quite a bit of junk out of the tank, but also had that when the anode still had life left.  Mike

[Steph and Dud B]

4 hours ago, DaveWilkins said:

decriminalize with vinegar regularly

Many states are decriminalizing calcium. I'm worried it will be a gateway mineral and lead our camper to harder stuff. 😁

[SeaDawg]

25 minutes ago, Steph and Dud B said:

Many states are decriminalizing calcium. I'm worried it will be a gateway mineral and lead our camper to harder stuff. 😁

Gotta love autocorrect.  It's made some of my posts pretty humorous,  too.

[DaveWilkins]

HA!.  Ya'll got me on that one and to make it better, I'm usually the first one to pile on misspelling,,,😁

[dbp05ret]

Ordered new faucet heads and had them shipped to Highland Hammock SP in FL. Yes, 2 different ones Installed and still poor water pressure. Thanks for the links/comments suggested from people on this topic.Out of ideas. Thanks 

[dbp05ret]

I have been sitting in sunny and warm Florida the past 3 weeks, thinking about my low water pressure in bathroom. After buying, trying, and returning a  new faucets  bought from Amazon. I decided to dig deeper into a solution to my problem based on recommendations from this page . I use a portable soft water softener about 50% of the time. I will now use it 100% of the time! I went to the local Wally World and bought 3 gallons of white vinegar. I told my wife that I would decalcify the water lines . I told her that I thought there was less than a 50% chance this would solve the problem since I use a water softener half the time. Boy was I wrong! The vinegar worked its magic. Now,  I have great water pressure. Thanks for those who contributed. I hope by posting this solution it will help those in the future! Thanks again! PS- The links to faucets from Amazon that Dave Wilson and Frank C were awesome!

[Imelda]

All, thanks all for these post. I now have low water pressure at the dura faucet shower head in the bathroom. I live in North Texas same Dale Wilkens (hard water area) and among the many problems I have had with my Oliver after my Utah trip is low to non existent water pressure at the Durafauct shower head in the bathroom. Toilet and kitchen faucet water pressure are fine. I put the durafaucet shower head in a bowl of CLR for an hour or two and while it's is a lot better now but still not great. I was a little suspicious of the water at Farm store in Utah where we filled the fresh water tanks in April. I was thinking that in addition to hard water there may have been a lot of sediment in the water. I am going to order another durafaucet shower head from amazon per Dave Wilson and Frank C suggestions and and I am assuming I can just unscrew the old one and put in a the new one. I am also going to drain the hot water heater and check the anode. I have only used it once. Mostly I dry camp and use the propane. 

And how do I go about flushing the water system with white vinegar to get ride of any deposits and I assume I have to bypass the water heater? I did replace the water pump filter even though it looked ok and it didn't improve the shower head water pressure. 

 

[Mike and Carol]

3 hours ago, Imelda said:

I was a little suspicious of the water at Farm store in Utah where we filled the fresh water tanks in April. I was thinking that in addition to hard water there may have been a lot of sediment in the water. 

 

Do you use an external water filter (like the blue Camco)?

[SeaDawg]

2 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:

Do you use an external water filter (like the blue Camco)?

Even the least effective camco cuts out a lot of solids. Not all, of course, but it definitely helps.

Good question,  Mike.

@Imelda, I'll look for instructions  in another post, but basically,  you'll want to pull a strong vinegar solution in like you are winterizing.  do not draw it in to the water heater. Pull water through the lines by opening one faucet at a time, just like you do when winterizing, but you won't see pink, you'll smell vinegar. Don't forget the showers, and the toilet.

The acid in vinegar can mess with valves and seals,, so let it sit for twenty or thirty minutes,, and flush very thoroughly with plain water, everywhere,  every faucet. (That's my opinion. Others may think otherwise. )

 

[Imelda]

Thank you all, really good advice here - I will replace the dura faucet shower head, flush the water system with White vinegar ( by pass water heater of course) and invest in a quality water filter.