# Glacier bay all in one sink faucet low pressure -- aerator clean



## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

May have a flow restrictor. Looks like a washer with a small hole in it, pop it out and see what happens.
Hope you know you bought the cheapest of the cheap faucets so do not expect to much from it as far as finish lasting for long and not leaking.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

If that has a pull out sprayer--let us know----there is a back flow valve built int the hose that frequently clogs up---

Have you checked the shut offs ? How about the feed lines? Are they nice and straight with no kinks?

Those are poor quality as you have already found out---only one did I install one---(fix up for sale job)--I was not impressed---------


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## percygreen (Feb 7, 2013)

It's been my experience that anything marketed as "all in one" is usually garbage. (Sinks with faucets already installed, the infamous "Toilet-to-Go" at Lowe's, etc). The idea is for the big box stores to sell something that's easier and quicker for the homeowner to install himself, negating the need for a plumber. Unfortunately, most of the time this stuff is of inferior quality, and you'll end up paying a plumber to either fix it or replace it anyway.


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## jagans (Oct 21, 2012)

I remember when $300 bucks was a lot of money.


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## benwa100 (Feb 8, 2013)

Thanks for the responses so far. The faucet does have a pull out sprayer (the faucet is on a hose and you push a button on the faucet to make it a sprayer). The pressure is about the same whether I have it on sprayer or regular mode. I couldn't find a flow restrictor. The shutoffs are open and the feedlines seem straight to me. I'm not sure how to clean out the "back flow valve built int the hose that frequently clogs up"".

In general, this is the first diy plumbing I have ever done, so I don't really know what I'm doing or the terminology.

Thanks


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## marleyeds (Sep 21, 2013)

I'm having the same flow issue - and same story as you regarding taking the aerator off. Valves are all set, not kinks...this thing has to have a restrictor somewhere. Wish I would have had time to read the reviews on this one!


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

See if there is a tiny back flow gizmo where the hose screws into the valve body---

look in the hose end---or inside the outlet on the valve body----Moens back flow fitting pops out when you turn on the water with the hose removed---use a bucket to catch the little part---


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## jagans (Oct 21, 2012)

marleyeds said:


> I'm having the same flow issue - and same story as you regarding taking the aerator off. Valves are all set, not kinks...this thing has to have a restrictor somewhere. Wish I would have had time to read the reviews on this one!


Pull the cartridge. A lot of carts have filter screens in the cart itself right where orings bear against a base plate. There should be a set screw to remove the handle. Of course turn off the H&C feeds first, open the faucet to bleed off pressure and pull the cart. Probably crap in there.


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## Ghostmaker (Mar 2, 2013)

How was your pressure on the old faucet. What type of waterline do you have?
Galvanized steel, copper,CPVc or Pex


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## jmon (Nov 5, 2012)

benwa100 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> When I take out the aerator, it looks perfectly clean. Also, when the aerator is out, the water comes out of the sink with decent power (I think) but it obviously sprays all over the place without the aerator. As soon as i put the aerator back in, the water pressure is pretty weak (but still basically useable).
> 
> ...


When you took off the aerator you said you had decent pressure/power (you think). Just a suggestion, check your faucet to see if the flow restrictor is installed on its own or whether it's part of the aerator. If it's on its own, you can remove it easily (but said you can't find it). My guess is; That it's part of or built into the aerator itself. Try a different aerator.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

The other item to look at, is how old are the shut-offs. They get gummed up with crud over the years, and worth replacing, if you cannot remember how old they are.


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## Ghostmaker (Mar 2, 2013)

jagans said:


> I remember when $300 bucks was a lot of money.


Your age is showing...


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## jagans (Oct 21, 2012)

Ghostmaker said:


> Your age is showing...


Thanks Ghost, I needed that. :huh:


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## ohyeahthatchick (Apr 14, 2015)

I know this is an old thread, but I had the same issue this week. We bought the sink because it's an awesome sink with a nice big deep main bowl. The faucet was just a bonus.... until we hooked it up and realized that there was hardly any pressure from the thing. And we knew it wasn't my pipes because the older faucet I had was such high pressure that you couldn't even turn it on all the way without water splashing everywhere. I'm used to taking out flow restrictors in shower heads and all, but I had no idea they did it to kitchen faucets now as well. So when I realized that the pull out spray head was more like a pull out trickle head and it took 5 minutes to fill up a pot of water, the search for the little plastic thing began...

I fully took apart the head because that seemed to be where most of these things are, but no... nothing I took out helped. So don't even bother with taking the head apart or you might mess up the switch in it. And as mentioned, taking the aerator out doesn't help one bit. 

The next day the boyfriend started to work on it. He un-clicked the little white quick connect coupling going from the hose to the water line and lo and behold, there it was. Or rather, there THEY were Basically, just disconnect the quick connect coupling, unscrew the white plastic t-shaped piece from the black faucet hose, take out the small black washer, and then stick a pencil or something into it and TWO little white cartridges with blue rubber rings pop out. Push the little black washer back in, reconnect the hose, and bam... you have water pressure again. What surprised me is that there are two of these things in it, not just one. No wonder it was so bad.

Here's a picture of what they look like since no other threads I've found have actually shown them: http://imgur.com/wYgV90o. I'm not sure if these are flow restrictors or back flow cartridges, but they are what was causing the massive drop in water pressure.

Again, I know this thread is old, but I hope it will help others who run into the same issue with this Glacier Bay all in one sink. I know the faucet isn't top of the line like Moen or Delta, but it's a good deal considering how nice the sink itself is and the price of similar faucets. I'm just using it until I feel like shelling out money for something nicer or until it starts leaking or breaks.


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## ohyeahthatchick (Apr 14, 2015)

*edit* Double Post


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## melissarockey (Sep 23, 2015)

*worked*

Thank you sooo much... there were two in mine also... water pressure is perfect now!!!:wink2:


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## Ghostmaker (Mar 2, 2013)

Thats a check valve you should have one installed to protect your drinking water if you leave the spray in the sink basin.


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## ohyeahthatchick (Apr 14, 2015)

A - why would you leave the sprayer in the basin? B - the pull back on the thing prevents the sprayer or even being able to sit in the basin, it pulls it back up into the faucet. C - my previous faucet for the past 10 years didn't have one at all and I'm still alive. In fact I'm fairly sure none of the faucets I grew up with for the past 33 years ever had one.


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## cyg (Apr 21, 2016)

ohyeahthatchick thanks for that info.........who would think to look in there 1st ? it helped a bit but its nothing like it was.......its almost usable now ........the flow/pressure @ that spot was so ridiculous that you had to turn it on only partially or else it would splash everywhere.........Its a brand new glacier bay pull down spay sink faucet.......it sounds crazy but I had the same exact issue with a GB shower diverter......did remodel.....had to rip out the wall to change the damn thing......I had thought it was just a defective valve housing after replacing the cartrige....home depot gladly let me switch it......but still NFG so I replaced the whole diverter .......& still no good... it was simply a "bad model".....a "watersense" compliant government conspiracy bull**** model.......the actual innards were just too small......& I mean ....in no way could you use it to shower .....if u did u would use more water in the long run cuz it would take 3 hours to get clean....& the pressure at that location was great with the old style valves.........so i changed it out for a delta ......& its ok .....about 75% of what it can be......but defiantly usable......so they actually make them nowadays so that you cant just remove constrictors and/or anything else(which was always the 1st thing I'd do)........the funny thing is that, I bet most of the ppl that come up with these compliance ideas live in old mansions with 5gal per flush plumbing........so in conclusion apparently its the govt's job to control how much water we need to flush a dump & wash etc......just thought I'd share


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## RevLauren (Jun 17, 2016)

Thanks SO much for this information. We just installed the sink in April and I've been looking for the flow restrictor(s) ever since. While I believe firmly in conservation (and I don't think strict regulations in the midst of profound drought conditions, especially in SoCal, are "nanny state" indicators), one does need some water pressure in the shower and in the kitchen sink. So better to have shorter showers and more consciously careful dishwashing than no water pressure. Thanks again!


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## Shimmydiva (Aug 13, 2016)

This site and its contributors were extremely helpful and in case you need a visual on where these restrictors can be found, here is an image of where and what to look for.


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## Valszoo (Apr 7, 2021)

Just wanted to thank you all for guidance ro remove flow restrictors from this faucet. I removed them this morning and the faucet works great. Only differences were that there is no longer a "t" with the quick connector and the washer in mine was white. The quick connector still unscrews from the hose and the restrictors popped right out. Thanks again for the help with great instructions.


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## Brendan21 (Jul 19, 2021)

thank you!! This totally worked for me. I found the black washer totally busted up and mashed into one of the restrictors. Am I gambling by not replacing it? (I’ve already removed the two restrictors.)


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