Dripping faucet driving me crazy!!

[locolorenzo24]

Anyone have any quick and frugal fixes for a steadily dripping faucet. It's my kitchen one and I rent, but hate having the landlord in my place while I'm not home...(He's already having to come to fix a toliet flow valve...which he replaced last week...)

[PrincessPerky]

do you have a wrench and are you willing to expirament?

If so FIL fixed mine be tightenting the part where water comes out. Dont break it though!

If the noise is the only annoying thing, put a rag in a strainer in the sink, it will be quieter.

[Ima saver]

I worked for a water dept., for a while. a dripping faucet can really cost a lot in your water bill. I am so lucky, I have a husband that can fix anything except electronic stuff.

[lrjohnson]

I have an old-fashioned one, and it was relatively easy to fix. I am not at all a handy person. I waited over a year-I have a landlord that I don 't like to call (part of it was being so embarrassed I couldn't fix it) and I don't pay for water. But eventually the noise got to me. I google for some repair sites, dismantled part of the faucet, and took the piece to the hardware store to get an exact replacement-a medium size Ace had a zillion types. It took me 20 minutes exclduing the trip. Worth it. The websites out there are incredible-something should help.

To just block noise I've heard of people running twine or a rag from faucet to bottom of sink-no plop.

[flash]

Originally Posted by locolorenzo24

Anyone have any quick and frugal fixes for a steadily dripping faucet. It's my kitchen one and I rent, but hate having the landlord in my place while I'm not home...(He's already having to come to fix a toliet flow valve...which he replaced last week...)

First, feel the temperature of the water leaking. Is it hot or cold? That will tell you which tap is causing the leak.

Then, turn off the water. Probably a valve under the sink.

Third, the tap/valve/handle for the hot or cold water comes off. Old houses, comes off directly, newer houses, pop the plastic top off with a knife or screwdriver head.

Look inside. Older homes, probably just a washer (rubber o-ring), take it to the home improvement/hardware store, they will match and send you home with one.

Newer homes, all plasticy stuff inside, but also a SPRING. This is the trick. The leak is typically caused by the spring getting compressed and no longer making good contact with the other handle parts. So, stretch out the spring a bit, clean it off, clean the top off, etc., to improve the fit. Reassemble. This usually lasts up to a month before you have to do a permanent fix.

If you have a single tap kitchen faucet, same basic process.

Good luck! IT's much easier than it sounds!