How To Repair Single Handle Kitchen Faucet

For likewise long now, a stubborn baste-baste-drip has been descending from the ane-handled kitchen faucet in the home of Richard Trethewey, This Old Business firm's plumbing and heating consultant. "Nigh people will ignore a dripping faucet out of fear or ignorance," says Richard. If they deal with it at all, it'southward commonly by cranking the handle and then hard they risk tearing a rubber washer or peachy something and making the leak worse. At his ain Second Empire house, it's more the example of the cobbler's child whose feet go unshod.

When Richard does finally discover a free morning to break out the wrenches, he stems the tide within 15 minutes. A homeowner with a little wherewithal should be able to stop similarly simple repairs in half an hour. "Fixing a faucet drip won't solve the world's water woes," says Richard. "But it will save the cease on your enamel sink and end your Chinese water torture."

Footstep 1

Single-Handle Cartridge Faucet Diagram

Illustration past Paul Perreault

A single-handled cartridge faucet is easy to detach. But pry off the decorative cap on the handle, remove the handle spiral, tilt the handle back and pull it off. If there'south a threaded retaining clip holding the cartridge in identify, employ needle-nose pliers to remove it, and and then pull the cartridge straight upwards. In Richard's case, only the cartridge needed replacing. If the O-rings are cracked, remove the spout and cut off the old O-rings using a utility knife. After coating the new O-rings with nontoxic, heat-proof plumber's grease, reassemble the unit.

Step ii

Prep the faucet for repair

The first task in any faucet repair is to shut off the h2o feed past endmost the valves under the sink; if in that location are none, Richard shuts the water chief. He turns on the faucet to bleed the pipes of water, then plugs the sink'southward bleed with a rag. "The smaller the part," says Richard, "the more it wants to take a dive down the drain."

Step 3

Remove the handle

Photograph by Craig Raine

To effigy out the side by side stride, "look at the faucet and endeavour to sympathise how it was put together, and so go in contrary," advises Richard. This single-handled kitchen faucet has a cartridge under the handle. The cartridge has holes that mix the hot and cold water to deliver unlike temperatures depending on how the handle is turned. If information technology'due south worn or cracked, h2o will seep through to the spout. To remove and supersede it, Richard outset uncovers it by using a pocket knife to pry off the decorative plastic cap—similar to those on two-handled "hot' and "cold" units—to expose the screw that holds the handle in identify. Richard removes the spiral; then he gently wiggles the handle back and along to loosen information technology and slides it off.

Pace 4

Remove the bonnet

Photo by Craig Raine

The faucet handle isn't the just thing between Richard and the cartridge; he must unscrew the bonnet——beingness conscientious not to scratch this chrome comprehend for the cartridge assembly—with a pair of slip-joint pliers. Then he uses needlenosed pliers to grab the U-shaped retainer clip, which slides through the faucet base and effectually the cartridge to secure it in place. As he takes out the pieces, he carefully lines them up to the side then he'south certain not to lose annihilation or mix upward the order of the parts when it'south time to reassemble the faucet.

Pace v

Install new cartridge

Photograph by Craig Raine

Richard grips the stalk of the exposed cartridge with his pliers. To overcome the suction resistance of the rubber O-rings at the top of the cartridge, he pulls upwards firmly, sliding the unit of measurement straight out without any side-to-side twists. Had the leak been coming from the base of the handle, Richard would have known that the O-rings needed replacing. But since this is a case of a dripping spout, he'south already surmised that the cartridge is the problem. He installs a new one, making certain that he places information technology in the aforementioned position equally the one he just pulled out, so the holes in its side that deliver the hot and cold h2o to the spout will not be mixed up. He then fits the servant prune snugly into its slot and reassembles the bonnet and handle.

Source: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/plumbing/21016479/how-to-repair-a-dripping-single-handled-faucet

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