Leaky faucets suck because they cost you money–you know that right? It doesn’t seem like a lot of water, but it adds up over time so it can cost you as much as $10, $20, or $50 extra on your monthly water bill, sometimes more if it’s really bad.
Also, it’s likely been leaking for quite a while before you first noticed it. I’ve got a couple of awesome videos here for you today on fixing leaking faucets, which one you need depends on whether it’s an indoor or outdoor faucet. First, a few tips:
- ALWAYS remember to turn off the water before you starting messing around with your plumbing! Soooo many floors have been ruined by people forgetting to do this.
- Let any water that’s in the pipes drain out into a pot or bucket.
- Plug the drain with something–this will prevent you from losing small parts from the faucet down the drain, making your day 10 times worse than it already was.
- The easiest way to make sure you get the right parts is to either take the old ones with you to the store and ask a pro there for help OR take pictures of them and e-mail them to the manufacturer’s customer service department and ask them for make/model info.
Ok, first, how to handle a leaky indoor faucet:
Now, how to fix an outdoor faucet:
(ok, the cameraman isn’t the best in the world, but I thought he was more funny than anything, and, overall, they did a REALLY good job of explaining exactly what to do)
Additional Resources and Further Reading
The best book I’ve read on how to fix stuff like this, and the only one I’ve found that’s specifically for, as one reviewer put it, “the home repair challenged, like me”, is Plumbing Do-It-Yourself For Dummies
ThisOldHouse.com also has a really well-done detailed article on fixing a leaky faucet with nice diagrams that you may want to check out for clarification.
If your problem is a leaking bathtub faucet, then that requires a different method and tools, which Charles & Hudson has put together a really nice step-by-step article on how to handle.