Nothing will drive you crazier than hearing those dripping sounds from your bathroom sink in the middle of the night. Drip, drip, drip, drip. The constant dripping from your home’s faucet is enough to drive even the most laidback person insane. It can also lead to a spike in your monthly water bill, wear away at the inside of your faucet, and to many other costly problems. Luckily, we’re here to help you figure out why your faucet is leaking and how to stop it. Here are a few tips on how to conduct a faucet repair for your home’s leaky faucet.
Why is my faucet leaking?
You might be asking yourself this question the minute you hear those water drops. There are a couple of leading causes of dripping faucets. Usually, it’s the result of one of their parts being broken, such as an o-ring, inner seal, or washer. In other cases, a leak can be because of a worn-out cartridge that is located inside the faucet. This deals with a lot of pressure from the water, so it naturally wears out over time. If you need a faucet repair, you are going to need to know how to fix the different types of faucets.
Fixing a Compression Faucet
Typically, compression faucets have a decorative cap on their handle. Remove it, then remove the handle screw underneath. Once the handle screw is off, remove the handle. From here, use a crescent wrench to unscrew the packing nut inside. Once everything is apart, pop out the stem and replace the o-ring. Then you can put everything back in one piece. Worn out o-rings are the most common cause of leaks for these types of faucets.
Fixing a Ball-Type Faucet
Ball-type faucets contain more complicated, moving parts than other varieties. It’s tricky to do a faucet repair on these. The simplest way to handle the leak repair of a ball-type faucet is to replace the entire thing. Buy a replacement kit from your local hardware store and follow the included instructions. If you have trouble installing it, consider calling a professional for assistance.
Fixing a Cartridge Faucet
For doing a faucet repair on a cartridge faucet, you’ll typically have to replace the interior itself. To do this, you’ll have to remove the decorative cap, then the handle screw. Take the handle off and pull the cartridge out. Remove it and replace it before putting everything back in place.
Get in Touch With B&D Today!
Dealing with any plumbing concerns that require a professional to step in? Struggling with an absolute plumbing emergency that can’t wait? Let B&D Plumbing know. B&D Plumbing Inc. services the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area, including Maryland and Northern Virginia. Get in touch with us by calling (301) 595-1141 or follow us on social media including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. As a small, family-owned business, we understand how important your home is—and we offer exceptional service that matches!