Leaky Faucet: Repair or Replace?

A dripping faucet is easy to ignore, but a steady drip can waste thousands of gallons of water a year, and in Tampa Bay's hard water a small problem tends to get worse. The good news is that most faucet problems are quick fixes. Here's how to tell what's wrong, what you can handle yourself, and when it makes more sense to replace the faucet.

Where Is It Leaking?

Where the water shows up tells you which part has failed:

• Dripping from the spout when it's off: a worn cartridge, washer or O-ring inside the valve. This is the most common faucet repair.
• Leaking around the handle or base: worn seals or O-rings. You'll often see water pooling on the counter around the faucet.
• Water in the cabinet under the sink: usually not the faucet itself. Check the supply lines and shut-off valves, the connections under the sink, and the drain. A dry paper towel run along each connection finds the drip.
• Low flow from one faucet: almost always a clogged aerator or a scaled-up cartridge. More on that below.
• A stiff or grinding handle: mineral scale building up on the cartridge.

The Hard Water Factor

Tampa Bay's water carries a lot of dissolved minerals. Over time they build up on cartridges, seals and aerators. Seals stop seating properly, handles get stiff, and flow drops. That's why faucets here often start dripping sooner than the same faucet would somewhere with softer water. A water softener slows all of this down.

What You Can Fix Yourself

Clean the aerator. If the flow is weak or sprays sideways, unscrew the aerator from the tip of the spout. You may need pliers with a rag around the jaws so you don't scratch the finish. Soak it in white vinegar for an hour, scrub it with an old toothbrush, rinse it and screw it back on. If it's badly scaled, a replacement costs a few dollars at a hardware store.

Replace a cartridge, if you're handy. Turn off both shut-off valves under the sink, open the faucet to drain it, then remove the handle and the retaining nut or clip to pull the old cartridge. Take it to the store so you get an exact match, since cartridges vary by brand and model.

Before you start, make sure the shut-off valves under the sink actually turn and close. Old valves often seize or start leaking once they're moved. If yours are stiff or crusty, that's a good reason to call a plumber and have them replaced at the same time.

When to Call a Plumber

• The shut-off valves won't close or leak when you touch them
• You've replaced the cartridge and it still drips
• Water is getting into the cabinet or the wall
• The faucet is loose on the sink or the countertop is damaged
• You'd rather not spend your Saturday under the sink

Repair or Replace?

On a good-quality faucet in decent shape, a worn cartridge or seal is a quick, inexpensive repair. Replacement usually makes more sense when:

• The body is corroded or the finish is peeling
• Parts for that model are hard to find
• It keeps leaking after repairs
• It's an older, low-quality faucet that's started failing in more than one way
• You want a different style, like a pull-down kitchen faucet

When we replace a faucet, we look at the supply lines and shut-off valves under the sink too. A new faucet shouldn't be connected to parts that are about to fail.

Don't Forget Outdoor Faucets

Outdoor hose bibs take a beating from sun and sprinklers. A drip at the spout or a leak behind the handle wastes water around the clock, and a leak where the pipe enters the wall can soak the wall behind it. These are usually simple to repair or replace.

Need a Faucet Fixed?

Believe Plumbing repairs and replaces kitchen, bathroom and outdoor faucets across Tampa Bay, including Tampa, Carrollwood, Westchase and Brandon. We'll tell you honestly whether a repair will do it. Weak flow everywhere, not just one faucet? See what causes low water pressure. Or see our faucet services and contact us for a free estimate.