The dreaded leaking faucet!
You’re in a good mood, you come home to grab a glass of water or wash that dish your kid left in the sink and your kitchen faucet won’t shut off! If it’s not one thing, it’s another! You turn it on and off, jiggle the handle. No luck.
You’re not alone:
The good news? Unless you’ve let that faucet leak for months it’s possible it’s a relatively simple repair. Most faucets have rubber washers or o rings inside. These washers and o rings get brittle with age and need to be replaced. Most faucets today have replaceable cartridges that after being replaced can make your faucet good as new.
What happens if I let it leak for months?
Water can get under the faucet and cause the faucet’s body or even its finish to deteriorate. After the finish starts to rot, you may as well just throw the faucet away.
Worse yet, if water starts getting under the faucets, body or trim it can cause water damage to the bottom of your kitchen sink cabinet. By the time you actually see water under the cabinet, it’s too late, and the damage is done. Unless you plan onremodeling your kitchen soon, it’s wiser to repair or replace the faucet.
The repair:
If you’re handy and have the time and tools, you may attempt to make the repairs yourself. Try to determine the brand or model first, and be sure you can get the replacement parts.
Turn the water off to the faucet before you start to disassemble the faucet. Some faucets require tools unique to that particular faucet to disassemble them.
Make sure to lay the parts out in the order you remove them, or it could end up being a long, discouraging day. Some faucets have many small parts!
If you prefer to hire a professional, we’re here to help. We stock most repair parts on our trucks. If we determine the faucet can’t be repaired, we also have a large selection of new Moen faucets to choose from as well.
Lance Riccioli
President Accurate Plumbing and Drain Cleaning Inc.:
N.J Plumbing License Number 8364
856-468-9775 or www.pickaccurate.com