If your kitchen faucet is dripping or leaking, it is wasting water and money. Once you discover the basic how-to details of DIY kitchen faucet repair, however, you might find that fixing your kitchen faucet is actually fairly easy. repair a kitchen faucet simply depends on what type of faucet you have.. Does this Spark an idea?
Rotary Ball Faucet
A rotary ball faucet controls temperature and water flow with a hollow ball in a corresponding socket. The rotating ball might be plastic or brass. Both work well, although the steel ball lasts much longer. You should buy a rotary ball faucet repair kit, which cost about $15 as of 2009, and includes a steel replacement ball, O-rings and seats for the spout, springs and a small spanner tool to use for repairs.
If water is leaking from the base of the handle on a rotary ball faucet, you can repair the leak by taking off the handle and slightly tightening the adjusting ring. Use the spanner tool to turn the adjusting ring clockwise. If water is dripping from the spout, replace the springs and seats.
Cartridge-Style Faucets
Some faucets function with a cartridge instead of a rotary ball. If water drips from a cartridge-style faucet, take the cartridge out and examine the O-rings. If the O-rings are worn down, replace them. If the faucet continues to drip after you have replaced the O-rings, you will need to replace the entire cartridge. To find the correct replacement cartridge, take the old cartridge to the home improvement store with you.
Ceramic Disc Faucets
Ceramic disc faucets are a different type of cartridge faucet. Discs located inside the cartridge control water flow. Ceramic disc faucets are reliable and sturdy and seldom need to be repaired. Some manufacturers even offer lifetime warranties on the ceramic disc faucet cartridge. If the faucet does leak, it is usually because the rubber seal is not functioning properly or one of the discs inside the cartridge is cracked. It is difficult to tell whether or not a disc is cracked, and the discs are expensive to replace--between $20 and $50. So it makes sense to replace the seals first and reassemble the faucet. If the faucet leaks after replacing the seals, then take the disc cartridge out and take it to the home improvement store with you. Older ceramic disc faucets are more fragile and will crack if they are exposed to blasts of pressurized air. Newer versions have been improved to withstand blasts of pressurized air and any debris that becomes dislodged from inside the pipes.
Tags: kitchen faucet, rotary ball, disc faucets, faucet repair, your kitchen faucet
