Kitchen faucet spits air, then water flows like normal.

This started recently and I was wondering why. Anyone have an idea? Does the faucet need replacement? Give me the Straight Dope.

This is usually air in your pipes. You need to open all the faucets, run all the appliances, flush all the toilets to let air escape. Start at the top of the house and work your way down.

Or just open the kitchen faucet for a few minutes and see if it goes away from normal use after that.

It’s fairly normal after I run the water. After a few hours though, it happens again. Faucet going bad or what? It’s probably 10-15 years old.

This is the only faucet that it happens to as well.

Normally a faucet going bad leaks water, or water won’t run through it.

Is it the highest faucet in the house? How many other faucets etc. are in your system? How many floors is your house?

What is your water source? Are you on a well? Well pumps can suck air into the system when things start going wrong.

How old is your house? Older houses should have air chambers to absorb water hammer. These are just dead end pipes sticking up from pipes filled with air. If the air is absorbed into the water and they fill with water you get banging. Which is the usual sequence of events. OTOH, if there is a source of air coming into the pipes they will completely fill with air over time (during which you won’t see much air coming out of faucets) and then once full you will start to see air.

Look for a drip or wetness under the cabinet. Faucets and faucet connections are no longer built to last forever. There may be a tiny leak after the valve that slowly dumps the water from the faucet itself, after you turn it off.