How to remove Grohe flow restrictor from kitchen faucet?
Your Grohe Kitchen faucet might be hindering you with low water pressure. As a result, you might be taking too long to rinse your dishes or even get your sink filled with water. You may not realize that a device in your faucet spout controls your water flow and water pressure.
It goes by many names: some will call it the flow restrictor, and others will call it a water flow limiter. They refer to the same device. Flow restrictors are responsible for the control of your water consumption, ensuring that you use less water and allow the drain in your sink to keep pace with the water flow.
If you are experiencing low water pressure or it is taking too long to fill the sink, you can improve your flow rate by removing the flow restrictor from the Grohe Faucet.
Ensure that the check valve is working well.
Don’t simply remove the flow restrictor before you establish what kind of problem is causing your low pressure and determining that the flow restrictor is at fault. First you need to see if the check valve on the faucet spout is working well. It is easy to do that. Here are the simple steps that you can use:
- Unscrew the spray head and turn on the cold water to find out if the flow of water is good. If you find out that the flow of water is heavy after removing the head, then you will need to check inside the spray head for potential problems.
- Use a screwdriver to press down the check valve and then hook it so that you remove it from the spray head. Open water from both sides (hot and cold water) so that you are able to do a flush to remove any dislodged and trapped debris. If you realize the debris cannot be removed entirely, in my be time for the check valve to be replaced.
Faucet Aerators
The aerator can be clogged with debris and this can restrict of the correct flow of water through the spray head. Aerators are designed with 3 main parts:
- Mounting runs
- Mesh screen
- Water flow restrictor/limiter
Both the screen and the flow limiter can be clogged with debris but the good news about them is that they can be cleaned so that you can remove any blockage and improve your flow rate.
Grohe Flow Restrictor Removal
If you have tried everything above and still have seen no improvement in the water pressure or flow rate of your faucet, you can now try removing the flow restrictor from your Grohe kitchen faucet.
You must have a wrench that will be able to help you in removing the aerator. The simple process of removing it is below.
- Insert the tool between the aerator and the ring and then pop out the ring.
- Turn over the wrench and then use the other side to insert it into the spray head.
- Turn the aerator counterclockwise so that you are able to remove it.
Sometimes you might find that the Grohe kitchen faucet didn’t come with the kind of wrench that will assist you in doing all this process. There is always another option that you can turn to for removing your flow limiter: the use of pliers.
When you are using pliers, I advise that you cover the area where the pliers will hold on with a painter’s tape to protect the faucet’s finish from getting damaged. After that, you can now turn the aerator counterclockwise with the pliers until you are able to remove it from the faucet by hand.
At this point, you should now be able to remove the flow limiter that’s found inside the aerator. This is the part that you will find has holes in it.
How to clean the aerator?
You have to do a few tests here and there to gauge the problem. The first thing that you can try is replacing the aerator with the faucet without the use of the limiter and gauging the water pressure. Cleaning it is as follows:
- You need to soak the aerator in a 1:1 ratio of water and vinegar. Allow it to sit for around 10-15 minutes.
- After that, scrub the aerator and then rinse it well.
- Replace it by screwing it in a clockwise direction.
Take Away
Your kitchen should work at its best to maximize your daily time savings. As we all know, water is very essential and we need to have it flowing with the best pressure and flow rate so that we are able to accomplish washing tasks with ease.
That’s why you always have to ensure that the water flow restrictor on your Grohe kitchen faucet works at its best at all times. If needed, remove Grohe flow restrictor to ensure maximum water output.
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