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No Need For A Plumber! Fix A Leaky Faucet By Yourself!
It's just about time you learn how to fix a leaky faucet if you constantly experience having to wake up in the middle of the night to the irritating noise of drip, drip, drip from a leaky faucet. By doing so, you will eliminate the need for a plumber, and consequently, high plumbing costs. And of course, the best part is, no more sleepless nights.
It’s just about time you learn how to fix a leaky faucet if you constantly experience having to wake up in the middle of the night to the irritating noise of drip, drip, drip from a leaky faucet. By doing so, you will eliminate the need for a plumber, and consequently, high plumbing costs. And of course, the best part is, no more sleepless nights.
You might think you really need a plumber to fix a leaky faucet. But no, you can do it by yourself! And with these simple and easy to follow steps, you will never have to dial a plumber again.
Here are just some of the basic materials and tools you will need:
- Screwdriver - Washers
Before You Start
1. Switch off the water supply. Look underneath your sink, maybe along the pipes, for a shutoff valve. Turn the handles counter-clockwise to turn off the water.
2. Always keep a collection of replacement parts like washers and O-rings handy. This is to save you from time in looking for one.
3. Make sure to plug down the drain (maybe with rags). This is to avoid having small parts like screws and washers go down the drain.
4. While working, line up the parts according to the order it was taken apart. This will later on guide you in reassembling it correctly.
Begin Working!
1. First, take the faucet handles off. You can do this by using your screwdriver to remove the screw that is holding them on. Once you’ve removed the screws, lever the handles open using a flathead screwdriver.
2. Faucet handles removed, you may now proceed to removing the old washer located behind the handle. If no washer is present, then don’t fret. Buy one and use it later on.
3. With the new washer that you just bought, replace the old washer. Put it where the old washer used to be. Keep in mind that the hole in the washer must be just a little bit bigger than the post where the handle turns.
4. Start putting things together. Put everything in place, according to the opposite order of how you took it apart. After, you can put the handle back to its post and screw it on. When you screw it on, make sure that you don’t screw it in too tight so that you wouldn’t damage the brass fittings. Just keep it hand-tight.
5. Check if you did the right thing. Turn your water back on by moving the handles of the shut-off valve to the left or clockwise. Remember, righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.
6. By this time, your faucets shouldn’t be leaking. If it still does though, you could choose to repeat the whole process or resolve to tighten the screws just a little bit more. If that still doesn’t work, give up and call a plumber. Hey, at least you tried.
Miscellaneous Tips
In going to the hardware when buying a washer, ask an employee for assistance. He could recommend the specific washer that is used for your sink.
Sometimes, leaky faucets are due to lime build-up. If you notice that a lot of lime build-up is on your faucet handle post, remedy this by using lime away products to clean the build-up.
So don’t endure the annoying drip, drip, drip noise any further. Fix a leaky faucet yourself and reap the benefits of doing so - no hassle of calling a plumber, no high plumbing costs, and no more sleepless nights!