Leaking Faucet

How to Stop a Faucet From Leaking
By Matthew Shields

A leaky faucet can not only be annoying to listen to...kind of like the water torture that you hear about in the movies ya know. If you concentrate on the sound long enough it really does get to be over whelming....

So now that you're concentrating on the sound of the water dripping from your faucet to the sink below, what are you going to do about it? Not only is it annoying it also is a waste of money, sure you might not think that it can't amount to much but a dripping faucet can really cost you hundreds. Even when it is really very simple to fix. A leaking faucet will probably take about 20 minutes to fix and most likely cost you about $1.00....A buck that's it, now how annoying is that water dripping?

So the first thing you're going to want to do is turn off the water to that faucet. If you peak under the sink you should see a couple of shut off valves. Turn each of them all the way off. If you don't see a couple of shut off valves then you will probably need to turn off the water in the whole house. To do this finds your water main. It should have a meter right next to it and a pipe will be coming out of the wall or floor within a few feet of this point. You might also want to check to see if the shut off valves are located right under or perhaps behind the sink or shower. Sometimes plumbers will hide them there.

Ok so now that you have the water off, turn the faucet on both the hot and cold and let it run until the water stops. This way you know that the system is not pressurized any longer. Look on the top of the faucet handles. You'll see a screw. Unscrew that and the handle should pull right off. What you are looking at now is a stem. You'll know ice what looks like a nut, or an octagon was you can put a wrench on and twist. Many of these are made from brass so it will strip very easily so be sure to get a good grip on those flat spots and twist.

After you have the stem out you'll notice a black rubber washer or gasket on the bottom of the stem....is it cracked or does it look deformed? This is where it was not making a good seal and water was passing by. Unscrew the screw right in the middle of the washer or gasket and take the gasket out. You can bring that to any home improvement store and find the same one. I suggest making sure you get enough to fix the other side of the faucet as well. They have both been used just as long so chances are good that the other side is not far behind.

Not too bad of a project huh....now you will have more money in your pocket and will have a silent cozy home to live in.....if only the dog would stop his snoring.....

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Matthew Shields

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