Are you throwing your money down the drain? If you have a faucet that drips or is leaky you are doing just that. Over a months time that simple little drip can add up to dollars on your water bill. I want to tell you how to fix it so you can stop throwing money down the drain.
Before you get started you want to get the area, around your sink, ready. Take some towels and lay them out around your sink. This can just help to keep the area clean and dry and so your tools won’t scratch any surfaces. Put a stopper into the drain so you don’t lose any parts down the drain.Leaking faucet
Next, you need to get your tools. Put your tools on top of the towels so you don’t scratch the surface area around your sink. You will want to get some pipe joint compound or plumbers tape. I usually just use plumbers tape. A flat head screwdriver (you may want to tape over the end of the screwdriver to help in not scratching any of your plumbing parts). A philips head screwdriver, adjustable wrench, utility knife, channel locks (again tape over the end so you don’t scratch any of your plumbing parts), and a mild abrasive pad.
shut off valveNow that you have your tools I am ready to tell you how to fix it. This is a relatively easy repair and anyone should be able to do this repair. The first thing you will need to do is shut your water off to this sink. Underneath the sink you should have two shut off valves, one for hot and one for cold. If you don’t, you will need to shut off the main water line to your home. I would recommend going to the article on “How To Fix A Leaky Valve”. This will tell you how to put a valve in. Believe me you can save yourself a lot of headaches by putting them in around your sinks and toilets in your home.Compression faucet
Our next step here is to remove the handle of the faucets. This is where control of the flow of water to your faucet is at. There is a screw that will need to be removed. On some faucets this screw is visible and you can easily get to it. Other faucets have a cap over the screw. Just remove the cap by prying up. Take your utility knife and pry up around the edge. Once you have it up a little, take your flat head screwdriver and pry around until it pops off. Next, take your philips screwdriver and loosen the screw. The handle will pull straight up and off of the stem. You may have to wiggle it a little, but it will just pull off.
Faucet StemNext you will need to remove the stem. Take your adjustable wrench and remove the stem by turning it counter clockwise. Don’t be surprised if water comes out, this is normal. If you have your water turned off to the sink it will not be much. Once you have it out, you can look at the bottom of the stem and you will see a rubber washer held on by a screw. This washer is normally the culprit for your problem and will need to be replaced. Take both handles apart and get both stems, then go to your hardware store. There you can get what you need. Go ahead and ask for help if you are not for sure. I know when I go to my hardware store they are very helpful. Many times they will replace the washer for me.
Now all I have to do is come back and put the stems back into the faucet. Before you put them back, thoughAbrasive pad, you want to take your mild abrasive pad and rub around the base of the stem. Below the threads toward the end where the washer is at. Take your pad and put it in the hole and rub it around in there as well. This just helps to remove any burrs that may be present. Take your joint compound or your tape and put it on the threads of the stem. Put the stem in place and tighten to hand tight. Now take your adjustable wrench and tighten slightly. Don’t over tighten.Faucet with Stem Removed
All you have to do now is put the handles back on the same way they came off. Turn the water back on to your sink. Turn the water on, on both handles and then turn them off. If you have any leaks around the handles, just remove the handle and tighten the stem a little more. You should now have no leaks there. Your leak is fixed and no more dripping faucet.
I hope this helps to tell you how to fix it so you can save yourself time and money. Have a great and wonderful day!
You might read also:
How To Fix It Toilet Tank Parts Replaced.
How To Fix An Electrical Outlet
How to fix ram on laptop or PC
a
faucet
how
to
fix
leaky
dripping
40
bathroom
bathtub
drips
handle
kitchen
outdoor
repair
shower
times