From the time water systems were created, we never really thought of how important water is because of its abundance. That is until we come to realize about those little but noisy drips coming from a leaky faucet that can be really annoying when we sleep at night. If you’re tired of hearing dripping sounds at night then here are a few steps you can follow to repair a leaky faucet
Fixing It on Your Own
Calling a plumber can be expensive than fixing it on your own. Do it yourself by learning about faucets and what causes it to drip. There are many types of faucets today. The most common ones are the washer-type, or compression faucets, and the washer-less faucets, which include disc faucets and ball faucets.
Easy Preliminary Steps
First off, you should know the parts of a faucet. Examining it, you’ll find that it has a handle, stem, packing and the packing nut, stem washer, threaded spindle, seat washer, valve seat, and brass screw. Loose nuts cause water to leak around the nut area. The simplest way to fix it is to adjust or tighten the nut located below the handle. Washer trouble causes faucet leaks when washers have worn out.
Required Tools
The things we need to repair a leaky faucet include a screwdriver, adjustable wrench, and washers of various sizes. First, we need to close the main water supply. You don’t want to get wet and flooded before you realize the main source of the overflow. Usually faucets have their own shut-off valve if you don’t want the entire house water supply to close. Check if the source is already closed by opening your faucet.
After that you must loosen the packing nut. Pull the faucet handle by twisting and turning it to draw the valve unit out. You will see the washer inside the valve unit. Remove the screw that’s holding it. Determine what size guide the old washer is. Then replace it with a new washer with the same size as the old. Also, substitute a new screw so that it will work much longer.
Put the valve unit back on its proper place before tightening the handle on its correct arrangement. Turn the water supply on after you tighten everything especially the packing nut. Check once again for any leaks. Try to test different sizes if leaks continue.
Bear in mind where each part goes when you’re removing faucet parts. You don’t want to get confused when put the faucet parts back in place. You can save money if you repair a leaky faucet on your own. This will eventually help you sleep at night by not hearing those drips.
