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Fixing Your Leaky Faucet

Getting tired of that leaky faucet? The constant drip, the higher water bills – both annoyances that should drive you to fix that sink today. But you don’t necessarily need a plumber for this problem; just a couple of tools and a little bit of your spare time.

Since faucets come is such a wide variety of shapes, size and styles, it is hard to generalize exactly how to diagnose each leak source for every faucet. However, there are general things to look at and standard procedures to follow regardless of which exact model and make you have.

Before ripping apart your sink, it is important to understand what type of sink you are looking at and how it works. There are four types of water-control mechanisms found across most types of sinks. Cartridge and disc mechanisms are found across all types of faucets whereas ball mechanisms are only found in single-handle faucets and compression mechanisms are only found in dual-handled faucets.

Of these four categorizations, compression faucets are most likely to leak due to the mechanics of how it is built. They use a washer system to restrict water flow by closing against a valve when you turn the water off using the handle. With the constant wear-and-tear of these washers building every time you turn the sink on and off, it is common for them to leak after a while. Other mechanisms are washer-less, yet use O-rings or neoprene seals to keep them from leaking. Over time, these sealants can also become worn.

Now that you have a good idea what type of sink you have, or at least what to be looking for, let’s get started on fixing that sink. First, go underneath your sink and turn the water off. Next grab some tools and start taking your faucet apart. You may want to go to your manufacturer’s web site and locate a diagram of your faucet first – this can help with the disassembling of the faucet, and more importantly, the reassembling.

Start examining all sealants (washers, O-rings, etc) and look for any signs of leakage. Signs to look for would be: the outsides of sealants are wet, obvious wear-and-tear on parts, loose sealants, etc. If you still cannot isolate an exact source of the leak, try putting the faucet back together and making sure everything is tight (be careful not to over-tighten things, you don’t want to crack anything). If the leak continues, try replacing all sealants. The last thing to check before calling a plumber would be to call the manufacturers hotline and see if they have any recommendations. Maybe by describing the leak they can tell you what part it may be that needs to be replaced. The last step would be to call a plumber for professional, onsite assistance.

The above steps are to be taken by people who feel comfortable with their tools and “tinkering” capabilities. If you have no experience or no faith in your capabilities, please contact a licensed plumber. Also, the above steps are not guaranteed to fix a leak, rather a broad guideline as to how you can find and fix the problem on your own.

Keywords: leaky faucet, leaky faucet repair, fixing a leaky faucet, repairing leaky faucets, leaky bathroom faucet, how to fix a bathroom leaky faucet

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