How to Fix A Leaky Faucet
February 7, 2018
Everyone knows how frustrating a leaky faucet can be. Most of the time the cartridge of your faucet causes this issue. Today on the blog, our Best Plumbing experts are here to help you stop that incessant drip, drip, drip! Just follow these easy steps:
Tools You’ll Need:
- Hex key or Allen Wrench
- Crescent wrench
- Faucet lube or Grease
- A new cartridge (We’ll teach you how to identify your cartridge and get a replacement in the instructions!)
Instructions
- Shut the water off. Be sure to verify that it’s off by testing both the hot and cold water from your faucet.
- Take your Allen wrench and loosen the setscrew on the handle, then pull the handle off.
- Remove the bonnet nut by loosening it with the crescent wrench. This will give you access to the cartridge.
- Remove your cartridge, and replace it with a new one. If you have never replaced your cartridge before, that’s ok. Here’s what our team at Best Plumbing does: take a picture of the cartridge and of the faucet, and head to the hardware store. They will be able to get the correct cartridge to you for installation. Unfortunately if your faucet has a leaking cartridge, the most common fix is simply replacing it with a new one, rather than repairing the cartridge itself.
- Put a bit of faucet lube on the new cartridge and the bonnet nut.
- Carefully align the new cartridge and replace it. Most cartridges have bumps that need to be lined up correctly with the faucet. You should be able to feel these click in. Check out our video above for an easy visual guide to this step.
- Put the bonnet back on and tighten it.
- This is a good point to test that the water is coming out correctly. Turn the water back on and test both the hot and cold.
- Replace the handle and tighten.
We recommend calling a licensed plumber if you have trouble finding any of the above materials, or are concerned that something else may be wrong with your faucet. Our Best Plumbing team has proudly served the greater Seattle area for over 40 years. Come visit us at our Seattle showroom any time!
Learn more useful plumbing tips on our blog and Youtube channel.