Fixing a leaky faucet is very important to attend to right away or as soon as possible. Otherwise you will end up having a pretty expensive water bill if you let it leak until your plumber is available to visit your place to fix it. Plus, on top of the water expense you will have to pay to the plumber too.
Here is the solution to help you fix the leaky faucet yourself:
1.) You should determine what kind of faucet you have as every faucet has a different design.
2.) The tools you will need in order to fix the leaky faucet are: A flat head screwdriver, Pipe joint compound, a regular Phillips head screwdriver, a wrench, some pliers, a utility knife and a scratching pad. For higher quality spigots you may need some specialty tools as well.
Note: Place tape around the ends of the flat headed screwdriver and the pliers to help pipes from getting nicked or scratched.
3.) Before you start, make sure the faucet is turned off. You can usually find this valve under the sink or in older homes the valve may be located at the same place you would go to turn off the water for the whole house.
4.) Determine which part of the faucet is leaking. One of the most common problems you will find is that one of the rubber washers needs to be replaced. The rubber washer can be located on the bottom of the valve unit.
5.) Before you open the faucet, turn the faucet handle to let the excess water flow out into the sink.
6.) Place a towel over the drain. Hence, screws don’t have a chance of getting lost while fixing the leaky faucet.
7.) Remove the faucet handle. The screw to the handle usually can be found at the top of the handle right underneath the decorative cap piece. The cap piece can be removed with a small flat headed screwdriver or you can use a knife. Be very careful when removing the cap though because the pressure prongs are what hold the cap piece tightly and it can break very easily. Some faucet handles may have additional adapters to remove but it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out. While some pieces unscrew, other pieces may have to be pulled out.
8.) Remove the decorative handle piece. Once the packing nut is exposed you can turn it counter clockwise to remove it. If you are having trouble getting it loose, a wrench can help.
9.) Remove the stem and washer assembly which can be removed with a wrench. Using the wrench will provide a better grip and it will be easier to loosen. Then you can easily pull the stem out.
10.) Once the valve unit is out, remove the old washer by removing the screw that holds it in place. Do this carefully because if the screw is old, there is a possibility that it could break apart. Hence, it’s better to apply pressure to the valve movement while you turn it slowly.
11.) Reassemble the parts back together in the opposite order they were taken out.
Once you have repaired or replaced the leaky faucet, you can turn the water back on. Fixing the leaky faucet is easy, and you can save time and money by viewing this “Do It Yourself” video: