Research shows that a leak in the faucet with a drop per second amounts to 3,000 gallons of water wasted per year. That’s the amount of water required to take around 180 showers.
Coming back home after a busy day at work only to find that your shower or tap had been leaking all day isn’t the best feeling. Not only is it annoying, but those tiny drops also add to your water bill. And if you’re especially unlucky, you may even need to pay off those high water heater utility bills.
A little oversight on your part may result in huge costs, so let’s put a stop to it. If you’re determined to fix that leaky faucet, here are six simple steps highlighted by plumbing experts to help you out.
Your Six-Step Guide
1. Shut Off the Main Water Supply
The first most important task is to shut off the main water supply. This would save you the trouble of dealing with the flooding when you remove the faucet during the next step. However, keep a towel nearby, just in case.
2. Get Started On the Faucet
Undo the faucet handle and locate the screw; its location may vary depending upon the faucet type. Unscrewing the main internal faucet can be tricky, so it may be best to stop what you’re doing and hire professionals with the right tools to do the job.
3. Take Out the Faucet Stem
If you’re determined to keep doing, the following step is the most technical part of the job—taking out the faucet stem. You may need a deep socket to pull it out. This would require a lot of strength, even with the proper plumbing tools. Once you’ve applied enough force, pull the faucet stem out of the wall.
4. Disassemble
Disassemble the faucet by taking out all of its washers, seals, and rings and replace them with the new ones in the same order.
5. Clean Up All the Parts
After you’ve cleaned the faucet and put back the new washers, seals, and rings, you have to reverse engineer the faucet back into the tap as it was and screw the faucet tightly.
6. Put It All Back Together
Finally, screw the reassembled faucet back tightly into the wall, put back the tap cover. Open the main water supply and enjoy the newly fixed faucet.
A One-Step Guide to Fixing a Leaking Tap
We bet you’ve got much better things to do than dealing with the nuisance of fixing a leaking tap. Even if you have all the time in the world, you may not have the tools and expertise to go about the job, which can do you more harm than good.
So save yourself from hefty repair calls and get in touch with us!
ProservPlumbers provides plumbing leak repair services in all of Fort Worth, TX. At any hour, when you hear that annoying dripping noise in your bathroom, you can call us, and we’ll be at your doorstep in no time. We also specialize in tankless water heater installation and a variety of other plumbing services in Fort Worth, TX.
