Home Maintenance on the Cheap:

Slow-Running Faucet

It's weird, but one of the things in life that truly brings me joy is being able to correctly fix something in my home on my own (or Chris being able to fix something, which happens more often). Seriously, one of the best feelings ever. Built circa 1958, our house is old - for Texas (cue snickering and scoffing from the folks in New England, where it's not uncommon for people to live in houses built in the 18th and 19th centuries).  But, for whatever reason, houses here that have been around for longer than 10 years are considered "older." So ours is basically ancient. And I get a little anxious and dramatic when I think something in the house is broken. Therefore, when the faucet in our master bathroom sink started running slowly a while back, I almost had a meltdown. I convinced myself that there was a major pipe leak between the road and the bathroom pipes and that we were about to have to shell out some major money for a repair. Then I picked myself up off the floor, wiped away the tears, and started actually thinking clearly (kidding about the floor and the tears...yeah, kidding). I decided to clean the aerator screen (the little screen on the very end of the faucet) and see if that would help. I cleaned the aerator screen, returned it to the faucet and, lo-and-behold, the water came gushing out at the normal speed. Hallelujah! And all it took was some white vinegar and a pair of pliers. This weekend, I noticed the faucet running a little slowly again, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and give the screen a good cleaning, then put pictures and instructions on the blog to help people who may run into a similar problem. Happy maintaining!

~Liz