Maintaining Your Home Faucets

There is nothing more irritating than a dripping faucet. Not only can it keep you up all night, but it is furthermore a waste of significant assets: water and capital. A dripping faucet can raise your water bill in no time at all.

Good upkeep along with inspections of faucets is necessary in residential plumbing and construction plumbing to keep your faucets in top condition. Through preventative maintenance and inspections you can steer clear of having to call for professional  plumbing repair just to fix a faucet that is leaking.

Residential plumbing needs upkeep and inspections from time to time to prevent plumbing malfunctions. If your home has low water pressure or just a simple leak or two, you can do the repairs and maintenance yourself. The two most conventional troubles with a broken faucet is loose nuts or a damaged washer.

You can easily fix a simple problem like water leaking from the base of a handle with nothing more than a common wrench. Find the nut located at the bottom of the handle (you may have to remove the any decorative cover on the handle to find the nut). Tighten the nut gradually, but be careful not to tighten it too much. Turn the water on and see if the leak is resolved. If it still leaks, tighten the nut a little at a time until the leak appears to be fixed.

Another source of a leaky faucet is a worn out washer. Check out the manufacturers information beforehand, since some faucets are washer less, like the Moen’s one handle faucets. In this case you can find a repair kit at your hardware store for most popular manufacturers of faucets. Otherwise, you can exchange the washer yourself. All you need is a wrench, a set of washers from the hardware store, and a screwdriver.

Repairing a shower or tub faucet may require a little extra effort since the valves are usually located behind walls. Check for an entrance door to the plumbing. If there exists no access door, you might have to make one, or, if you are not comfortable creating one, you should call a professional plumber.

1. Disengage the water supply, which is located beneath the sink (or behind an access door if in a tub or shower).

2. Verify if to turn the water off by turning the faucet on.

3. Stop off the drain with a cloth to prevent things from falling down the drain by placing a towel over it.

4. Take out any decorative handle to find the nut.

5. To prevent scratching the faucet surface, pad the wrench with electrical tape or masking tape. <br>

6. Loosen the packing nut within the handle with the wrench. Turn it counter clockwise.

7. Remove the valve by twisting the handle until it comes out.

8. Locate the washer, and disconnect the screw located at the bottom of the valve.

9. Match the old washer with one from the package of new washers you bought. Make sure they are precisely the same size. If there is a different washer for hot and cold, make certain to use the washer marked for hot or cold water correctly.

10. Install the new washer(s), replace the valve, turn the handle back to its correct position, and then tighten the nut(s).

11. Check for leaks by turning the water valves under the sink back to the on position and turning on the faucet.

If these steps do not assist you in successfully fixing your leaks, consider hiring a professional plumber to ensure proper faucet repair.

Faucet repair is not complicated with the right tools and new parts. Preventative maintenance as well as inspections will help deter problems. Dripping and leaky faucets ought to be repaired without delay to avoid costly water costs and wasting of water resources.

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