Leaky faucets are not only annoying, they can even let your hard earned money go in vain. The continuous dripping sound of water can disturb your sleep and break your concentration. You need to handle this problem before all those drops have accumulated into gallons of water that have gone wasted. However, if you are of the opinion that only a plumber can handle it effectively, then you can’t be any farther from the fact. Fixing a leaky faucet is easier than it appears and costs much less than what you have to spend when you hire a plumber. Although, you will come across numerous models and styles of faucets, but still the process of fixing leaky faucet is almost similar for all of them. Just go through this guide carefully and you will get a very clear idea of how you can fix a leaky faucet easily and effectively.
Complexity Level: Moderate
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
Resources Required:
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Wrench or pliers
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Right sized gasket
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Old toothbrush
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General sink cleaning material
Instructions:
1. Cut the water supply
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The first thing that you need to do is to cut the supply of water to the leaky faucet. This is very necessary as all the water will run off from the open faucet if the supply is not cut.
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In most of the cases, the water shutoffs or water supply knobs are located just below the sink. Turn the knob in order to turn off the water supply.
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However, in older houses each individual faucet is not provided with water supply knobs and only one knob is attached to the main line and is located at the place from where the pipe enters into your house. In that case, you need to turn off the water supply of entire house.
2. Open the faucet assembly
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Next, you need to take off the faucet handles. For this, you need to remove the screws which are holding the handles at their place. Use a screwdriver for this purpose. However, in some faucets the screws are generally hidden behind metallic or plastic caps. First, you need to pry off that cap with pliers and then continue with the process of removing screws.
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Pry out the handles carefully with a flat screwdriver once you have removed all the screws.
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Don’t forget to put a towel in the sink bottom as the faucet screws are very small and even a slight carelessness can cause you to lose one down the drain.
3. Replace the old gasket with a new one
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Now you have to locate the old gasket. A gasket looks like a flat rubber doughnut and is generally located behind the handles.
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Remove the gasket from its place and inspect that place for grit or grime. Clean that surface with toothbrush and other cleaning agents.
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Take the old gasket to a nearby hardware store and purchase the replacement gasket matching the old one. Place the new gasket at the spot where the old one was located.
4. Place everything back at its position
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Once you are done with the replacement of gasket, then you need to place everything back at its position.
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Put the handles at their place and tighten them with the screws. Place all the screw caps over the screws.
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Turn on the water supply and your faucet is ready to be used again.
Frequently asked questions:
How a compression faucet works?
The working principle of compression faucets is very simple. It restricts the water supply by pressing a stopper against a metal opening located inside the faucet. By turning the lid, the stopper becomes tighter and presses against the water supply with more force until it stops water from pouring out.
Quick Tips:
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If a lot of lime scale has developed on the faucet handle then you can use lime-away products to get rid of the scale. Sometimes, this scale is responsible for the leakage of faucet.
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Always purchase a good quality gasket as this will prevent your faucet from leaking in future.
Things To Watch Out For:
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The screws holding the faucet handles at its place are very small and can get misplaced very easily, so you need to take extra care while handling them.
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Make sure that no one turns on the water supply before you are done with all the repairing process.
