Free Easy Plumbing Cheats: How to Fix Your Faucet for Under Five Dollars

Sometimes when you work in a certain field, it sticks with you forever, even when you wish it would go away. Well, I worked in plumbing for a few years and there are certain “leftovers” from it that drive me nuts. Leaky sinks. Ok, these are like Chinese water torture to me. I grit my teeth when I use someone’s bathrooom and the sink leaks. I don’t here “plip plop”, I hear “fix me.” Yes, I may take a long time in the guest bathroom, but I may be compulsively fixing the toilet!

For the purposes of this article, we are going to focus on that annoying faucet that drips all night. It’s really very simple to fix, but we go to all kinds of lengths to avoid hearing it. Shut the bathroom door, turn a fan on in the bedroom so you don’t have to hear it as you lay down to sleep or maybe even trying so hard to turn it “off” that it ends up too tight and you can’t turn it back on!

Well, get ready, this is really very simple! Go to Menard’s, Lowe’s or whatever home improvement store is in your area. Go to the plumbing section and look around the faucet and toilet repair sections. Find a small bag of “gaskets” or “o-rings” for faucets. This may cost from $0.99 to $ 4.99 but I would lean more towards less than a dollar. In this bag you are going to get an assortment of gaskets and o-rings.

The next thing you need to do is to figure out whether it is hot or cold that is leaking, unless you have a single handle type faucet, then it doesn’t matter! Obviously, if the water coming out is hot then it is the hot water one that is leaking. Honestly, it’s usually the hot that goes first, especially if you’re like me and have your water heater turned up really high!

Now, go home and find a phillips screwdriver as well as a flathead screwdriver. Go to the faucet. Look under the sink for a shut off valve. Turn the valve to the “off” position. Take your fingernail or flat screwdriver and pry the flat plastic piece off of the top of the handle that turns the water on or off. Use the phillips screwdriver to unscrew the screw you will see as soon as the cover is removed. Once you remove this screw, the “guts” should be easy to remove. Once you have pulled them out, you can see the little rubber o-rings. You will probably see at least one that is cracked ir broke. Really, you may as well replace them all if there is more than one since you are already in there. Once you replace the defective o-ring, replace the guts, then the screw, then the cover. Now, as soon as everything is in place and tightened, turn the water on and try out your faucet!

Now, if you’re having a really bad day and need a boost, call your local plumber to see what they would have charged you to fix this! Now you should feel better!