Top 5 Faucet Repair Tutorials
When faucets start to leak it can be very frustrating if you don't know what kind of parts to buy to fix the leak.
Faucet valves have come a long way from the days of simply replacing a rubber washer on a compression faucet to stop a leak.
Today's no-wash faucets are more reliable and may use a ceramic ball, cartridge, or disc valve to control the flow of water.
Knowing what type of faucet valve you have and how to repair it is necessary if you want to avoid an expensive plumbing repair.
And well, that's why you're here. Do it yourself and save some money!
In this article, we will take a look at the top 5 faucet repair tutorials that will help you fix your leaky faucet in no time.
These tutorials are easy to follow and will save you the cost and hassle of hiring a professional plumber.
Whether you're dealing with a simple drip or a more complicated issue, these tutorials will guide you through the process step-by-step.
With the right tools and a bit of patience, you'll be able to fix your faucet and enjoy a leak-free sink in no time. So, roll up your sleeves, and let's get started!
1. Determine What Type of Faucet you Have
The first is the first. And this tutorial is the first thing you should read to determine what type of faucet valve your faucet uses. You must determine this in order to know what you need to replace or repair your faucet or valve.
Today's faucets have valves with one of four options:
- Ball valve tap (mixer tap)
- Cartridge Valve Faucet (One or Two Handle Faucet)
- Ceramic Disc Valve Faucet (One or Two Handle Faucet)
- Tap with compression valve (mixer tap)
Each valve has its own unique design and repair procedures. The most common single-handle option is a ball valve or ceramic disc.
The most common two-handle type is a cartridge valve commonly found on inexpensive faucets, and ceramic disc valves are found on more premium faucets.
2. How to Repair a Ball Faucet
The ball tap is the most popular type of washerless mixer tap on the market. Originally introduced in 1954 by Delta Faucet®, the ball valve increased in reliability and popularity in the 1970s under the DIY Faucet brand Delta Faucet.
The ball valve uses a single handle that controls a specially designed ball within the body of the faucet. This ball can be made of plastic or metal and has small chambers or grooves. Installs in a housing that has rubber o-rings and spring-loaded rubber seals.
Depending on the position of the ball, the ball and lever assembly controls the flow of water and the mixing temperature of the water coming out of the tap.
These valves can fail when the spring-loaded rubber seals or rubber seal rings dry out. The springs can also weaken over time and the spinning ball can build up fouling.
These valves can usually be repaired by installing a ball valve repair kit, but in some cases, you may also need to purchase a kit that includes a new ball.
3. How to Repair a Cartridge Faucet
The cartridge tap is versatile and is commonly used in economical applications. The water cartridge valve is a type of water control valve without a washing machine found in the kitchen or bathroom.
Like disc faucets, cartridge faucets also come in single-lever and two-handle versions. The water cartridge valve can come in a plastic or brass body.
Single-lever faucet cartridges control the volume of water flow by raising and lowering the valve through the faucet handle.
The temperature is controlled by mixing hot and cold water with a side rotation of the handle.
Dual-Handle Faucet Cartridges simply control the flow of water by turning the faucet left or right approximately 1/4 turn.
4. How to fix a ceramic disc faucet
The single-handle disc faucet is difficult to distinguish from a ball valve faucet. They both have large individual handles that appear to rotate.
However, the single-handle disc tap has a spike lever on a large cylindrical body and moves up, down, and sideways, similar to a cartridge tap.
The ball tap (which has a rounded, ball-shaped cap just above the base of the tap) actually moves in a spherical direction.
The water disc valve is a premium device and uses highly abrasion-resistant ceramic discs to control the flow of water.
The disc faucet mixes hot and cold water within a mixing chamber called a pressure-balancing cartridge. Two ceramic discs at the bottom of the chamber will go up and down to control the volume of water flow.
The temperature is controlled by a lateral rotation of the handle.
This tutorial describes how to remove and inspect the disk cartridge, clean it, and replace the rubber seals on the cartridge assembly.
These are the small rubber water inlet seals on the bottom of the cartridge that seems to fail or get dirty with calcium or other mineral deposits in the water.
5. How to fix a compression tap
The compression faucet uses a rubber washer on the compression to control the flow of water and is the oldest style faucet valve in use today.
These are old-style valves with brass bodies and a rubber washer bolted to the bottom of the valve body. As the valve stem of the faucet is turned clockwise, the compression pressure on the rubber washer increases to stop the flow of water.
As it is opened and turned counterclockwise, the bottom of the valve retracts into the valve body and the water flow increases through the faucet.
Once the handle is removed from the valve stem, removal is easy. The valve stem assembly will have a hexagon-shaped nut that can be easily removed with a pipe wrench or slip-joint pliers.
Repairing a compression tap valve is generally limited to replacing the rubber washer at the bottom of the valve body.
In some cases, these valves may leak from the valve stem to the top of the valve body.
This type of leak is due to a failure of the stem seal around the valve stem (typically found on external hose taps or older bathtub faucets) or the valve stem rubber ring underneath the gasket nut on older faucets.
We hope you enjoy watching this video about How to fix a leaky kitchen faucet in 1 minute
Source: Lifey Guy
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Last update on 2025-01-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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