How To Repair a Leaky Faucet 01

Kitchen And Bathroom Renovation : How To Repair a Leaky Faucet 01

When looking to fix that irritating and wasteful plip-plip from the bathroom faucet, the first thing you must do is identify which type of faucet it is from an internal standpoint. In general, there are four faucet types: compression, ball, cartridge, and disk. These names actually depict the part that controls the water flow.

You can make an educated guess as to which type of faucet you’ll need based on characteristics mentioned in this section. An easy way to identify which type you have is to contact the manufacturer. Being the adventurous type, I like to just open up the faucet (which you’d have to do anyway) and take a look around. It makes me feel like a doctor doing exploratory surgery.

CONSIDER THIS

You must locate and check that your faucet shut-off valves are working properly before starting this project. These faucet repairs require that you shut the water off from the water supply shut-off valve. These shut-off s are usually located under the sink—one for the hot and one for the cold. If you ever want to experience firsthand an I Love Lucy calamity, unscrew the faucet handle and start to dismantle the parts without shutting
the water off from the valves. Water will start shooting out and into your face like a geyser.

Once the water is off at the shut-off valves, slightly turn on the faucet to verify that it’s completely off and to release the pressure. Note that your faucet may vary slightly from what is described and illustrated. Remember to keep track of the order in which parts are disassembled to help you when you’re putting them back together.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

The following tools should be on hand for any of the faucet-type fixes in this section.

Flathead and Phillips screwdrivers
Adjustable wrench
Tongue-and-groove pliers
Needle-nose pliers
Allen wrenches (hex keys)
Cartridge puller (for cartridge type only)*
Clean rag
Metal nail file*
Masking tape
Penetrating oil
Heat-resistant plumber’s grease
Steel wool or scouring sponge
Flashlight
Faucet repair kit, washers, O-rings,
cartridges, discs, and so on (depending on
your type of faucet)
Valve seat wrench or seat dresser (for
compression type only)
Plastic bag
* If applicable

PREP WORK

These steps apply to all of the following faucet-type fixes:

• Shut off the water to the faucet from the shut-off valves. Th is step is imperative to avoid a flood.
• Close the stopper and place a rag in the sink so that nothing falls down the drain and it’s protected.