For some people, a steady drip out of a faucet in their home is so annoying that they call a plumber to come out and remedy the issue immediately. After all, not only can the steady drip be annoying, but it can, believe it or not, be the cause of a spike in your water bill!
Many people think that a tiny (yet steady) drip isn’t wasting that much water. But, consider this: according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s drip calculator, one faucet in your home that drips ten times a minute will cause you to waste three liters of water a day, and/or over three hundred gallons a year!
When it all comes down to it, if you have a leaky faucet, it’s wise to get it fixed promptly so that you don’t find yourself paying for water you didn’t use or consume! Plus, sometimes fixing an issue such as this can be a simple one, and you won’t even have to pick up the phone and call a plumber.
If you would like to try to fix a leak on your own, the first thing you need to do is turn off the cold and hot water supply valves under the sink. Once this is done, you can move on to determining what is causing the leak, and what you need to make it stop.
Some common causes of a leaky faucet include:
A worn rubber washer, seal, or gasket within the valve assembly.
It is likely that replacing these parts will remedy the issue, but doing so requires that you disassemble your faucet. If you think that you can take it apart and put it back together, it is possible that you will find no more drips once you turn back on the cold and hot water supply valves.
The faucet aerator is not working correctly.
The faucet aerator (the piece of a nozzle that creates that no-splashing stream in modern faucets) could have particles attached to its filter screen and threads. So, what you can do is remove the aerator, clean it, put it back on, and then turn back on the water to check for the leak.
If you find that a faucet is leaking after you check and clean its parts, it’s probably time to call a plumber. To schedule an appointment with one of our plumbers, please give us a call, or fill out a contact form on our site.