Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip. Oh I am so sorry, is it two in the morning and you still cannot fall asleep because your bathroom faucet is leaking. Does it seem like the Chinese are waterboarding you tonight? Has your trusty wrench not been able to crank hard enough to get that last drop to stop its drip?
This torture device is one of the most common problems in many homes. It is quite a simple fix too that you do not even need a plumber for.
Here is how you do it.
- First, turn off your water supply. This is the most important step in the process. If there is still water running through your faucet and you pop the top off of it, you just turned that annoying dripping into a fire hose to your face.
- Unscrew the handle or handles on the faucet. Whether your faucet has one handle that controls both hot and cold or it has two. The idea is to unscrew all of the handles you use on a daily basis.
- Unscrew the screw you see once you remove the handle from the faucet. This is getting closer to where your problem actually lies. A leaky faucet is an internal problem.
- When you take the screw out of the faucet, you should see the most common cause of your recent Chinese waterboarding. The washer on the bottom of the screw is the nasty little root of your problem. The washer is probably worn down from all those times after your number twos. You can run to a hardware store and they should carry new washers.
- More of a side note, make sure the new washer fits perfectly in your faucet. If it does not fit perfectly then the washer will only almost stop the drip. Making the minor job you just did completely pointless. It is like you did last week’s homework only to find out, it was last week’s homework.
- Put the washer back on the screw, put the screw back into the faucet and put the handle back on the screw. If that is too much for you to handle, just remember it is the opposite of everything you just did you little genius.
- Now you can almost start your own plumbing business because leaky faucets ruin everyone’s day.
Your torture session will finally be over once you have gone through this simple process. Just remember, as reiterated before, small things, like turning off your water before you begin, make the biggest difference.
And do not give your wife anymore things to hound you about besides how you always leave your socks on the floor of the bedroom. She does not need any more ammunition to fire back.
By Brian Connor
Brian Connor enjoys writing professionally and especially in this industry. He has written for several different blogs relating to home repair and improvement including leak detection.
