How to Stop a Dripping Faucet

Before starting to repair a dripping faucet, you first want to take a moment to turn off the water going to the faucet (both hot and cold). Usually the shut off valves are located under the faucet. Follow the pipes from the faucet until you reach the shut off valves. Before touching the valve, check it first for corrosion. If you see external signs of mineral deposit buildup, or rust, first go to the main water shutoff valve in the home and turn that off. There is nothing worse then having a shut off valve knob break off in you hand when you don’t know where the main water shutoff valve is (I know this from personal experience)!

Turn the valves clockwise to tighten the valve and shut off the water. When stopping a dripping faucet. If you don’t remember what direction to turn, remember the plumber maxim “righty – tighty lefty – loosey”. Turning the handle towards the right tightens the handle, turning the water off.

Once you have shut off both water supply valves (hot and cold), turn the faucet hot and cold valves to release any remaining water. Next seat the sink drain stopper so that no screws or washers fall into the drain (again I know this from personal experience). If the sink does not have a stopper, use an old rag.

Now you want to remove the faucet handles. The majority of handles are held on with a screw. Some times that screw is hidden behind a decorative plastic of metal cap. You can usually pry the cap off with a flathead screwdriver. Once the cap is off, unscrew the screw holding the handle in place.

Check each handle to see if there is an old washer or washers. If there are, replace each one with a new one. You can purchase an inexpensive washer kit down at a hardware store. You want to replace all the washers at the same time to avoid guessing which one might be the problem washer. Usually you can just match up the washer removed with the ones in the kit. The general rule is that the hole in the washer should be just slightly larger then the post that the handle sits on.

Once you have replaced the washer, reinstall the faucet handle and attach it with the screw. Hand tighten the screw (don’t over tighten with a screw gun). Over tightening will compress the washer too much.

Next turn on the water and see if the leak stops.