Laying in bed at three in the morning, head pounding from a long day
or a long night, blissful silence filling the air, until – drip.
The sound of a single drop of water falling less than a foot to crash
into the bottom of a sink. The most annoying sound in the universe.
Then another. And another.
After a few minutes, an eternity at three in the morning, the sonic
torture could drive even a more stable person to rip the faucet from
the sink and hurl it through the window. But that really wouldn't
help, would it, other than the momentary pleasure brought on by
wanton destruction.
Fixing a dripping faucet is a fairly simple task, though not at three
in the morning, so let's just quiet it for now and I'll tell you how
to fix it after you've had some sleep.
There are two small valves, appropriately called stops, underneath
the sink cabinet. Turn the handles clockwise until they, well, stop.
Now turn the faucet on to relieve the pressure then turn it back off.
No more drip.
Now if you don't want to battle through the mass of junk stuffed
under the sink cabinet, to find those little stops, or if you aren't
coherent enough at three in the morning to puzzle out which way
clockwise is, we have an alternative. Grab a sock or a knee-high,
slide it over the dripping spout and let the rest lay in the sink.
The drip will wick silently down the hosiery, and into the sink,
letting you go back to sleep.
In the morning you can call a plumber or fix it yourself. It really
isn't that hard. The first thing you'll need to know is what brand
the faucet is. The manufacturer's name is usually marked somewhere on
the main body of the faucet.
The most common type of faucet uses a cartridge to control the flow
of water; either a single cartridge that controls both hot and cold,
or two separate cartridges. Some older faucets have stems with
washers on the bottom that can be replaced, and some even use a ball
and gaskets. First thing to do is remove the handle(s), after
you have found and turned off those little stops we were talking
about buried deep within the cabinet.
If the faucet has two handles, they will most likely have a
Phillips-head screw in the top that holds them secure. This may be
covered by a small plastic cover. If your faucet has a single lever,
there will most likely be a small Allen-head set screw at the handles
base. Some fancy designer handles have special ways to remove them.
If you have that kind of faucet, you're on your own.
Beneath the handle(s) you'll find a nut. This nut holds the stem in
place. Remove the nut and the stem will screw out, if that's the type
of faucet you have, and you can replace the rubber washer, held on by
another Philips-head screw, on the bottom. After you replace the
washer, just put it all back together.
It is more likely you'll have a cartridge. There will be a small
retaining clip that holds the cartridge in place. Remove the clip and
the cartridge will slide out. Take it with you to the hardware or
home improvement store to match. Remember what the name brand is, it
will help narrow the search down. Slide in the new cartridge, slip in
the retaining clip, and put it all back together.
If you removed the handle and there is a dome shaped packing nut, you
probably have a single lever Delta faucet. You can purchase a Delta
repair kit that comes with everything you'll need: a ball, gaskets,
springs, even a nifty little wrench. Screw off the dome shaped
packing nut, remove the ball-stem, the rubber gaskets (yes Delta is
the original “Washerless Faucet ™”
– it has gaskets) and the little springs under the gaskets (that
are not called washers). Just put the new parts in where you took the
old parts out and you're done.
Now you are ready to brave the jungle under the sink again and turn
the stops back on, slowly. Just turn them on about a half turn then
look for leaking water around the packing nuts, make sure the faucet
will turn on and off, look for leaking water again and tighten or
loosen the packing nut if needed (too tight makes the faucet hard to
operate, too loose and it leaks around the stem). If it's all good,
turn the stops all the way on (counterclockwise), and you're done.
Not bad work for a hungover Saturday morning, and you saved enough
money to go out Saturday night. And just think of the bragging
rights!
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