Learning how to repair a leaky faucet is not usually rocket science. If your kitchen or bathroom faucets are leaking, it can cost you a large amount of money in the long run and waste valuable resources. Here’s a step by step guide on how to repair a leaky faucet – read this information for the oil rubbed bronze faucet.
How to Repair a Leaky Faucet – Turn Off the Water
The first step in repairing your leaky faucet involves turning off the water so you don’t get sprayed when you take the faucet apart. There should be a shutoff valve right under your sink but if not, turn off the main shutoff valve for your house. Let any residual water drain out by turning on the faucet until it runs dry.
How to Repair a Leaky Faucet – Identify Your Faucet
You need to know what kind of faucet you have so that you can replace the parts that are leaking. There are many different types of faucets such as compression faucets, ball-type faucets, and cartridge faucets, each of which requires different replacement parts.
How to Repair a Leaky Faucet – Unmount the Faucet
Spread a towel in the bottom of the sink before taking anything apart. If you lose a screw down the drain it can be quite a hassle to dredge it back up again.
Use a screwdriver and some WD-40, if necessary, to remove the handle of the faucet from the assembly. Most problems can be found right in the stem. If your faucet has a washer in the stem, held in place by a screw, check these first for damage. Any parts of the handle and stem of the faucet that are damaged should be replaced.
How to Repair a Leaky Faucet – Exact Replacements
When replacing the damaged parts of your faucet that are causing leaks, it’s important to get exact replacements. If you don’t replace washers, screws, and other parts with exact replacements but instead get replacement parts that may or may not fit correctly, your leaking problem could only get worse.
How to Repair a Leaky Faucet – Reassemble Your Faucet
Once you’ve obtained identical replacement parts for the damaged sections of your faucet that are causing it to leak, install these carefully and reassemble your faucet. If any nuts are involved, be sure to tighten them with the appropriate size of wrench. There’s nothing worse than stripping a nut with an incorrectly-sized wrench and then not being able to put your faucet back together again.
When you have successfully reassembled your faucet, turn the water back on and check to make sure that the leak has disappeared. In most cases, replacing damaged parts will take of small leaks. If your faucet is still leaking, repeat the process until you find the piece that is causing the trouble and let you know how to repair a leaky faucet.