Leaky faucets are extremely painful and frustrating. That sounds like an exaggeration, but it genuinely isn't. Yes, a leaky faucet is hardly the most damaging plumbing problem you can experience. It isn't causing a flood; it just creates an irritating drip, drip, drip sound that makes you go insane. Oh, and the constant dripping will wastewater, even if it seems like hardly any is coming out.
Anyway, you've got a leaky faucet and want to know how to fix it. Well, there are various things you can do depending on what the issue is. We'll start with the easiest steps, gradually building up to the more complicated ones.
Check that it's turned off properly
Believe it or not, but a high percentage of leaky faucets aren't leaky at all. What tends to happen is you haven't turned them off properly. Either the mechanism for turning your faucet off is stiff and you just didn't turn it the whole way, or you simply haven't been doing it right. Regardless, check that your faucet is turned, twisted, or pushed into its correct 'off' position, then see if the dripping stops.
Clean your faucets
If the above doesn't work, try cleaning your faucets of any residue or calcification. When your faucets experience a build-up of minerals on the parts, it can lead to leaks. This is because it might cause the metal to corrode a bit, leading to problems with the valve. Cleaning everything away might solve the problem, so give it a try.
Alter your water pressure
Sometimes, leaky faucets stem from the strong water pressure in your house. When the water pressure is too high, it leads to build-ups in your pipes, which can cause leaks through faucets. If you know how to alter your water pressure, try to do it yourself and get it to around 80 psi. If you can see that it's already way above this, then the chances are this is causing your leaks. Those of you that can't check the pressure will need to call a plumber.
Repair or replace the faucet
If all of the above hasn't worked, the problem is with the faucet itself. It has probably been damaged in some way - the exact way will depend on what type of faucet you have. The best course of action is to take apart your faucet and identify the broken piece. From here, you can repair it or find a replacement part from places like Mark's Plumbing Parts. Naturally, the idea of taking apart your faucet is too much for the average person. So, if you get to this stage, you might be better off calling a plumber, ensuring you don't do even more damage to your faucet when attempting a DIY repair.
Go through all of these fixes until you find whatever it is that's causing your leaky faucet. If you're lucky, the leaks will stop after the first or second fix! If not, you might need to replace the faucet or get some running repairs done.
No comments