How To Fix A Leaking Single Handle Faucet

How To Fix A Leaking Single Handle Faucet

A leaky single hand faucet can cause a variety of problems within the household and not just your bathroom alone. For one, the longer you leave the leaky faucet unattended, the more money it will cost you pertaining to your water bill. Secondly, continuous leakage can cause damages to the structure of your home and contribute to the build up of mold. In most cases, the reason why you may be experiencing a leaky faucet is a result of a faulty cartridge. The cartridge is a mechanism that can be found within the handle of the faucet that is responsible for determining how much water should be released along with allocating hot water and cold water, depending on the position that you turn the handle. Here is a DIY guide on how to repair and rebuild a leaky single handed faucet.

Before we begin, here are some things that you need in order to rebuild your faucet:

  • Allen head wrench
  • Pliers
  • Cartridge (After You Remove The Faulty Cartridge

Step 1

The first thing you're going to do is to pull the handle back, once you do this you will see an opening as to which, you will use the Allen head wretch to unscrew the Allen screw that is in place, so that you can remove the handle.

Step 2

Once you'remove the handle, before you are able to see the cartridge you need to remove the decorative cap that is hiding the mechanism. Do do this, simply unscrew the decorative cap with your hands, you do not need a tool to remove this part of the faucet.

Step 3

Once you'remove the decorative cap, as you can see at this point, you will be able to see a brass lining along with the stem that is sticking out. You need to use the pliers on the brass lining which is shaped like a huge open screw. Once the brass nut that holds the stem in place is removed, you will be able to see the cartridge.

Step 4

At this point you can easily remove the cartridge. Once you have removed the cartridge, you need to go to your local hardware store such as Home Depot, to show a representative what your old cartridge looks like so that they can give you a brand new replacement. There is virtually no way to tell what type of cartridge you have beforehand, and it's highly recommended that you consult a professional about the specific type of cartridge that you should get before you make a purchase, meaning after you have removed your old cartridge.

Once you have acquired a cartridge that is compatible with your faucet. Now you're going to put everything back together.

Safety Tips

The way you'reconstruct your faucet is very important, if you miss one'single step in the assembling process, you will be experiencing the same problems as before. Here are some tips to consider when it comes to reconstructing your faucet:

  • To check if the cartridge is secure, ensure that you place it on the two joints that is supposed to hold it in place. To check if it's secure in place, try to turn the cartridge to the left or right, if you can?t it's secure, if you can, then you need to re-position the cartridge on the joints until it can?t.
  • Once you have placed the cartridge on the joints, the next thing you need to check to ensure that it is secure is the brass nut. You need to ensure that it is tightly screwed on because it prevents water from rising out of the cartridge and through the handle. So be sure to use a pair of pliers to turn the brass nut until you can?t anymore.
  • After that, the next piece you will put back on is the decorative ring, all you need to do at this point is to screw it back on over the brass bolt with your bare hands.
  • The last thing you have to do, is to align the handle with the stem and use the Allen wrench to place the Allen screw back into the handle so that the handle is secure.