SOME COMMON LEAKING PROBLEMS TO FIX
Do you know how important faucets are for our sinks? Let’s take an example! Can you drive your car without fuel or gas? No right? Your car won’t function if you don’t fill your fuel tank. Just like that, your sinks are useless if you don’t have a functioning faucet.
Simply, you can’t control the water flow if you don’t install a faucet in your sink. Rather than water flows, there will be water mess everywhere as these faucets also control water flow. They check the water temperature and make our daily chores easy to handle. But if not handled properly, our faucets can also face some common problems.
To avoid getting into deep trouble, always pay attention to the cleanliness of the faucets. Moreover, when you last use your kitchen, clean your faucets like your sink, marbles, and other kitchen objects to keep them fit.
Despite taking care and paying extra attention, your kitchen faucets may still face some wear and tear. But worry not! Problems like leaking, losing, and rusting can be taken care of within no time. Below, we’ve mentioned some common problems your kitchen faucets can face below.
Four Common Problems Your Kitchen Faucets Might Encounter
Like humans, our kitchen faucets can tire and strain if not handled correctly. So when they stop functioning properly, check if they’re facing any of these problems.
- Leaking of your kitchen faucets
- Leaking of your single-handle kitchen faucet from its handle
- The faucet is leaking under the sink
- Faucet leaking from neck
If your faucet faces any of the above problems, you can quickly fix them by following a few steps and guides.
1. How to Fix a Leaky Kitchen Faucet
Do you have a drippy faucet that leaks water whenever you turn it on or off? Now you must call an expert plumber to stop your kitchen faucet from leaking and dripping. Wait! You don’t have to.
Leaky kitchen faucets are not a huge problem. You can fix this issue yourself, even at home, and save money. How? We will guide you! Just follow the steps carefully.
Ways To Fix A Leaky Kitchen Faucet
- First, close the water supply lines of your faucets hidden under your sinks to stop the water flow. Place a rag in your sink to cover the hole from clogging by any of the waste particles.
- Disassemble the handle of your faucet by losing the small screws joining the faucet to your sink.
- Take out the O rubber ring inside the valve, which causes leakage from the faucet.
- Replace the ring or the entire assembly if needed; you can judge the replacement by its condition.
- You can also replace the seal if it looks damaged for better functioning.
- Lastly, join the handle and faucet to the sink with the small screws you took out.
- Now turn the water supply on that you closed at the start.
Done! Your faucet is ready to work again without any leakage.
2. How to Fix a Leaky Faucet Single Handle
Repairing a single-handle faucet is easy, but determining the correct process and dismantling and rejoining might seem a hurdle to you. There are many kitchen and bathroom faucets available in the market. But all the single-handle faucets have the same tightening process.
Let’s discuss how to fix a leaky faucet single handle:
Steps to Fix a Leaky Faucet Single Handle
Before starting the process, you’ll need three materials to fix a single-handle faucet.
- Replacement disk cartridge
- Rubber O-ring
- Heatproof silicone
After arranging the above-mentioned material, follow these steps to repair it:
- The first step is to stop the water flow, so shut off your main valve.
- Detach the single handle from your faucet and cartridge.
- A disk will be inside the cartridge; remove the ring or the screws attaching the disc to the cartridge.
- Inspect the cartridge; if it has a rubber seal, you have to replace it as well because if the rubber has expanded or is damaged, it may cause leaking from the handle.
- Replace both the rubber O-ring and disk for a perfect closing.
- Once you’ve done all the above steps, clean the ports, attach the handle back to the faucet, and tighten the screws with the help of a screwdriver.
There you go! Your single-handle faucet is all repaired within minutes.
3. Kitchen Faucet Leaking from Neck
The wear and tear of the rubber O ring or cartridge disintegration cause kitchen faucet neck leakage. You have to be a little patient while repairing a kitchen faucet leaking from neck, which requires proper working and balanced pressurized repairing.
How to Fix a Kitchen Faucet Leaking from Neck
You’ll need tools: Wrench, Slip-Joint, Needle-Nose Pliers, Screwdriver, and Tongue and Groove Pliers. Materials like Faucet Replacement Parts are required to fix a faucet’s neck leakage.
- Remove the neck of your kitchen faucet, and take out the clips and screws. Now discard the trimming ring and handle of the faucet.
- A cartridge or rubber O ring will be inside its neck, extracting it using a plier. Place a new cartridge or rubber ring inside the neck.
- Retain the nut and neck inside your faucet and tighten the screw; remember not to put extra pressure on it. If you put external pressure, the rubber might expand, or the cartridge might be misplaced again, causing the leakage.
- So keep your hands under pressure while fixing the neck; now turn on the handle of your faucet and check the leakage.
If it doesn’t leak anymore, your faucet neck has been repaired.
4. Kitchen Faucet Leaking Under Sink
When you own a home, you should also know how to repair and fix some common problems your faucets may face. However, if a kitchen faucet leaking under sink, there is no need to call a plumber for this easy-to-handle issue.
Most of the leakage under the sinks can be easily resolved by tightening the valves and pipes. But if this tightening doesn’t stop water leakage, inquire about the whole scenario and start your DIY. Find the point that causes leakage and work on that area first rather than opening the whole sink.
Let’s discuss this further in detail!
Fixing a Kitchen Faucet Leaking Under Sink
Two possible scenarios exist for why your sink leaks and the reparations for both problems differ.
If it is filled with water and leaking, you should follow these steps
- If you notice your sink leaks when the water is filled inside, the problem is with the drainage pipe.
- Clean the sink, remove all the water, and shut all the valves and faucets until the problem is solved.
- Take out the drainage pipe, try to clean it first, run some water with the help of the glass, and see if the water is still leaking from it.
- If yes, then you can replace your draining pipe. Buy a new pipe for your drainage system.
- With the help of a plumbing putty, connect the new pipe to the sink and make sure to join and seal it properly.
- Let it dry; for additional safety precautions, you can use the plumbing putty on the pipe to cover it from leaking and dripping even after getting fixed to the sink.
- After it fully dries, open the water supply and use your sink hassle-free.
If the water continuously leaks under the sink, follow these steps.
- When the water continuously leaks underneath your sink, your water hose is likely pressurized, causing leakage.
- You must change your valve; it is the only solution to stop your sink from leaking.
- Get a new valve, and use your hand to loosen up the compressing nut. Once it is loose, take out the valve and replace it with the new valve.
- Now tighten your valve; you have to put 90% pressure while tightening the valve with the help of a wrench.
- You can also use an adjustable plier to loosen and tighten the valves.
- Now open the water supply and check the water leakage; if the water doesn’t leak underneath the sink, your work here is done.
Why Do Kitchen Faucets Stop Functioning?
Is Water not coming out of your faucet when you turn it on? It’s a dreadful situation that might delay your daily house chores and other water-related work.
Your kitchen faucets can also face some wear and tear because of everyday work and burden, but it’s unnecessary to call a plumber for them every time. You can even check and repair it by following some quick DIYs. If they still don’t start functioning, you can call a professional.
Moreover, before getting to the conclusion, always do two things first, if your faucets don’t throw water.
- Check your water source, confirm if it supplies water, then focus on leaks in the pipes.
- If there are any leaks present, that would be the reason your faucet has stopped functioning.
- However, if both are okay, something may be stuck inside the faucet that stops the water flow; you must open and clean it.
However, if these three are not the reason, you must call your plumber and let him check what’s wrong with your working kitchen faucet, or maybe its lifespan has ended, and you need to buy a new one for your kitchen.
5 Smart Tips For Keeping Your Kitchen Faucets Undamaged For a Longer Time
We usually don’t care about the health of our kitchen faucets until and unless they stop functioning or face any damage. Taking care of your kitchen faucet can also improve it’s life span!
Below are some quick tips about taking extra care of your kitchen faucets.
- Before you sleep, clean your faucet with a mild cleanser and rub it with a damp cloth. Remember to pat dry it with a dry cloth before closing your kitchen, as water drops can cause rust over your faucets.
- If you have hard water, lime deposits can reduce the life of your kitchen. So it’s better to clean your faucets with a mild scrub or window cleaner to avoid them from getting damaged by hard water.
- Clean your aerators often, as they are vital in maintaining the faucet quality.
- To increase your faucet life incredibly, you can optionally install a filter inside your kitchen faucets. These filters help in cleaning the water before they reach the faucet.
- You can even wipe dry your faucets after every use to keep them shinier and healthier.
We hope these little tips will be handy in keeping your kitchen faucets healthy and operational for a longer time!
Final Words
How kitchen faucet problems start is unpredictable, but when they start, how to control and stop them is under your control. However, when your faucets stop working, your work can get delayed or stopped if you don’t have any alternate option. Fixing them right away is better rather than getting them changed.
Remember when you add a faucet in your kitchen: always choose a high-quality product that can last longer and have its repair kit. It’s very easy to repair a faucet when it has its tools, plus it can save the time you have to spend searching for its parts.