How To Stop A Leaking Faucet

Like plumbers across the country, Lake Oswego plumbing professionals answer dozens of service calls for stopping leaky faucet problems

. To save their customers unnecessary costs, Lake Oswego plumbers suggest homeowners read the following tips to understand whether they actually need to call a plumber.

Stopping Leaky Faucet Problems

Work space preparation. Carefully lay out your tools - including, at minimum, plumber's grease, several different types and sizes of screwdrivers and a crescent wrench. Turn off the water under the sink and apply duct tape to your wrenches to avoid scratching sink fixtures. Lake Oswego plumbers know that carefully preparing your workspace is a key step in stopping leaky faucet issues.

Faucet identification. Next, identify what type of faucet you have. Compression faucets feature two handles that turn to control hot and cold water. Ball-type, ceramic disc and cartridge faucets have one handle that lifts to control flow and moves right or left to control water temperature. Remove the faucet's decorative cap to identify whether it's a cartridge, ball-type or ceramic disc faucet. (Each type is fairly explanatory once the cap is off.)

Compression faucets. Replacing the seat washer and o-rings fixes most compression faucet leaks. First, pry off each faucet's decorative cap and remove the underlying handle screw. Use your crescent wrench to unscrew the underlying packing nut. Continue dismantling the faucet by unscrewing the stem. From here, you should be able to access and replace the seat washer, which is often held in place with a brass screw. Coat the new seat washers in plumber's grease. The o-rings are usually inside the packing unit; remove the stem to access and replace them. If the leak persists after you've replaced the o-rings and seat washers and reassembled the faucet, call for professional Lake Oswego plumbing help.

Cartridge faucets. As in compression faucets, you will need to take a cartridge faucet apart until you can access the o-rings. You'll need a utility knife and needle-nosed pliers to remove the old o-rings. Alternatively, you may need to replace the entire cartridge.

Ceramic disc faucets. In a ceramic-disc faucet, the neoprene seals are the most susceptible to corrosion. To replace these seals, begin by tilting back the faucet to reveal and remove the set screw. Take off the escutheon cap underneath the set screw. Remove the cylinder by unscrewing the three screws holding it in place. Replace the neoprene seals that are underneath the cylinder. Finally, reassemble the faucet. Check your work by turning the water back on very gradually. Otherwise, you might damage the ceramic disc.

Ball-type faucets. Since ball-type faucets contain so many intricate parts, it's best to replace the entire faucet assembly. To do so, follow the process for compression faucets as described earlier. One exception: needle-nosed pliers are usually required to dismantle a ball-type faucet.

Lake Oswego plumbers can succeed at stopping leaky faucet problems quickly - much more quickly than most homeowners. If you don't have the time or expertise to fix your leaky faucet, enlist the help of a Lake Oswego plumbing company.

by: Lucas Grant

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