What Causes a Faucet to Leak?

Although plumbing problems can occur in different forms and dimensions, water dripping from the tap is the most common.

You should be aware that when a faucet endlessly drips water, it can waste around a hundred dollars’ worth of water.

There are several causes for bothersome leaks in the taps of your bathroom or kitchen, which you can fix with the help of plumbing services or yourself.

Consider talking to expert plumbing services to find the location of water leaks and to improve your plumbing system so that future problems can be avoided. Beneath are some reasons accountable for the leakage in the faucet:

Malfunctioning of O-rings

The O-rings are the main culprit to inspect if you have a steady drip coming out of any faucet in your house.

O-rings are made of rubber and these rings are placed around the valve stem of the tap. Usually, faucets have one or more O-rings to prevent water overflow around the spout.

You can see water dripping every time from the tap handle when those rings wear out or get loose. If this is the situation, you need to change the O-rings to troubleshoot. To replace an O-ring:

1. Collect necessary tools and shut off the main water supply to open the faucet.
2. Remove the coupling nut and detach the spout from its socket; you will find the rings. (Different taps have various numbers of rings).
3. Switch faulty rings with similar-sized new rings and reassemble the faucet.

However, sometimes a faucet spout can get damaged gravely, usually due to hard water or a neglected leak.

Even if you put in a new O-ring, this will not fix the problem. If the situation is too complex for you, consider plumbing services from professionals. Plumbers grease the O-rings to resolve the leak.

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Read Also:

• 4 Types of Common Faucet Problems and When to Call a Plumber
• How to Avoid the Most Common Plumbing Problems
• 8 Tips to Quickly Repair Common Faucet Problem
• Best Shower Faucet for Hard Water
• How to Choose the Faucet for You?

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Unstable Water Pressure

You should notice the specific time when the faucet leaks. If the faucet drips water during a particular time, e.g. at night or the minute other plumbing fixtures are not in use, it means water pressure is causing the leaks.

Often, high pressure of the water causes minor leaks, eventually leading to pinhole leaks in the piping. In order to restore and estimate a stable level of water pressure, consider taking plumber services.

Rusted Valve Seat

The valve seat is a portion of the compression mechanism which connects the spout and the faucet. If the leakage is in the spout, then the valve seat is responsible.

While the old valve seats that were made from brass were easy to resurface and repair, the new plastic seats require the replacement of the entire faucet.

You can visit the Portland plumber store to get the right replacement parts and purchase different kinds of faucets like compression, disc, or ball faucets.

Broken Washer

Washers typically rest against the valve seat. Repeated use of the faucet can cause washers to wear out or become loose.

You have a loose or damaged washer if you notice any water leakage even when the faucet is shut off.  Newer faucets may have plastic valve cartridges that rarely need any swapping.

Leakages can also occur if the washer is not installed correctly or is of the wrong size. Call for plumbing services in order to find a correct washer and proper installation.

Cartridge Issues

The cartridge is a valve on the handle of a faucet. A faucet with two handles that control hot and cold water flow is a cartridge-style faucet.

If you face difficulty adjusting the water temperature and water leakage, these signs indicate that the inlet and outlet seals may have worn out. You can swap the seals with new ones to fix the plumbing problem.

The cartridge is a plastic cylinder with notches on the side. You require special tools to dismantle the cartridge from the faucet.

Plumber services will not only clean water sediments from the water seals but can also easily replace cartridges professionally to mitigate further problems.

You can follow these steps to fix your leaky faucet unless a replacement of the faucet is needed. Impurities in water take a heavy toll on the tap.

A professional from Portland plumber services can repair and replace the faucet if you find the task daunting. You can purchase a new faucet and have them install it properly.