Come to Grips with Drips
A leaky faucet might not seem like a big deal, but when it’s your own bathroom tap dripping insomnia-producing plink after plink it’s enough to drive you bonkers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that a faucet that drips just once per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water annually.
The dangers of a leaky faucet, however, extend far beyond incessant noise and wasted water. Left unattended, that persistent drip may seep into countertops, cabinets, and floors where it causes wood to rot and allows mold to grow. Suddenly, you’re faced with the daunting task of costly replacement and remediation — a headache you do not need.
Be safe and call the experts at Service Minds Benjamin Franklin Plumbing before the next droplet hits the basin. Our team of skilled plumbers will ferret out the leak’s source and implement a permanent, solution, so a drop in the bucket doesn’t overflow into a waterfall of woes.
Finding Faucet Failures
We’ll perform a comprehensive inspection to discover any other potential signs that tell us your faucets require repairs:
- Persistent Drips or Leaks: A faucet that drips continuously when fully turned off wastes water and raises your water bill. A worn-out washer, valve seat could be the cause.
- Reduced Pressure: Weak water flow at the faucet might point to a clogged aerator, mineral buildup from hard water, bigger trouble down the pipeline. such as a blockage or corrosion.
- Discoloration or Rust: Water that does not run clear contains rust from corroded galvanized steel pipes sediment that has built up inside the water heater. Cloudy or brown water can be a sign of serious plumbing problems, such as breached lines that allow leaks and contamination that compromise the water supply’s wholesomeness.
- Sticky Handles: If kitchen and bathroom sink handles are hard to turn, a worn-out cartridge or valve inside the faucet mechanism could be the issue. Or mineral deposits from hard water may have caused the internal parts to seize up. Handles that don’t twist fully restrict water flow, and forcing them could cause them to break, causing a safety hazard and necessitating costly replacement.
- Slow Shut-Off: If water continues to flow or drip after you’ve turned off the tap, a valve or washer has probably worn out or become damaged. It will continue to waste water until the problem gets repaired.
Don’t Try to DIY
That dripping faucet might seem like a simple weekend afternoon project — just tighten a couple of doohickeys and adjust a few thingamabobs. But before you go running for your toolbox, consider this: modern faucets are sophisticated pieces of equipment with multiple interconnected components. One wrong move could transform a minor annoyance into a major plumbing catastrophe. Here’s why calling Service Minds Benjamin Franklin Plumbing is always your safest bet:
- O-Ring Oh Nos: Tiny rubber O-rings keep the whole faucet mechanism watertight. These fragile gaskets are easy to lose, tear, and stretch out of shape. Handle them wrong during a DIY repair or position them slightly off-center and you’ve just created a new leak between the handle and spout. What started as a drip could become a geyser.
- Valve Seat Vulnerabilities: The critical junction where faucet meets spout requires perfect alignment and connectivity. Amateur repairs often disturb this delicate connection, leading to persistent drips that do not disappear no matter how much you tighten the handle.
- Washer Whoops: Don’t let their simplicity fool you. You must install these humble disks precisely to properly regulate water pressure. If one goes cattywampus your faucet will become either a fire hose or a water pistol.
- Cartridge Complications: Modern faucets use sophisticated cartridges or ceramic disks to control water flow. These precision-engineered components are unforgiving. Ham-handed handling that damages them during a repair will require costly faucet replacement.
- Pressure Problems: Your home’s water pressure constantly tests every component in your faucet. If your DIY repair leaves even one part slightly askew, that pressure will find the weakest link, probably at 2 a.m. or when out of town for a week.