Why is it dripping at all?
If the kitchen faucet drips, there are two possible causes: Either the cartridge inside is defective, or one of the seals in the tap is defective. Both parts can be exchanged with little expenditure of time and material. In this article, we read about How to fix leaky faucet?
Such is the situation with modern single-lever mixers. Perhaps you will also find an old kitchen faucet with two knobs in your kitchen. Don’t worry. The repair is easy in this case too. There is no cartridge with these older fittings. Here only limescale deposits can lead to unwanted drips. Or a rubber seal has become brittle and old. This can also be easily exchanged.
How to fix leaky faucet?
Limescale deposits form inside and outside the faucet whenever the water at your location is challenging. Hard water means that a vast number of minerals are dissolved in tap water. This is the case in many places in Germany because tap water often comes from deeper rock layers and has the quality of mineral water. Although this is pleasant in terms of health, it also leads to limescale deposits.
Because under certain conditions, such as temperature fluctuations and under pressure, the lime “precipitates.” The minerals do not remain dissolved in the water but instead settle where the water is. This can be pipes and seals, it can be the outer surface of your faucet, but it can also be your sink. Limescale deposits are undesirable inside the faucet because they destroy the sealing function of the rubber rings and make the fitting leaky. You can easily remove the residues on the outside with a bit of vinegar cleaner.
The repair is usually worthwhile.
- Your old kitchen faucet with two knobs is leaking. Replace the sealing rings.
- Your no more extended brand new kitchen faucet with a single lever mixer is dripping. If there are still suitable spare parts, you can repair the fitting yourself.
- Your new kitchen faucet with a single lever mixer is leaking. You replace the cartridge and body seals.
A new kitchen faucet does not have to be expensive, but it is also not necessary. If you are in the process of renovating anyway, a new tap is, of course, excellent. But sometimes the kitchen faucet is also leaking, even though you have just installed a new faucet. This is particularly the case with new buildings to fix leaky faucet. Because foreign bodies can get into the valve via the pipe system, the cartridges in the new single-lever mixer do not tolerate this. They will be damaged. The result is that your new kitchen faucet will drip.
You can find out how exactly the rubber seals on an old kitchen faucet with two rotary knobs are replaced elsewhere. The first thing here is to get your kitchen mixer tap with a single lever mixer tight again.
Find out the brand, find out the model, look for spare parts.
Don’t dwell on detailed root cause research. If your kitchen faucet drips, you, as a layperson, cannot determine whether it is due to the seals or the cartridge. It is better to look for information about which fitting it is to fix leaky faucet. It would help if you had the brand and the exact type designation. If you have this information, you can order a new cartridge, and the matching sealing rings from the manufacturer.
The model name must be correct because the sizes of the cartridges vary and the exact construction. Make sure that it is the right cartridge. This should be relatively unproblematic for brand manufacturers and newer fittings. However, this can be problematic with older models and less well-known manufacturers to fix leaky faucet. Buying a new faucet makes sense if you cannot find the exact model of your kitchen faucet or if there is simply no replacement cartridge available. You can usually find replacements for high-quality products. The cartridges cost roughly between 20 and 30 euros.
Exchange is done in a few minutes.
Before you start repairs, make sure you have all the parts you need ready. You need:
- the new cartridge
- the new sealing rings
- Valve grease
- a clean, preferably lint-free cloth
- a cloth for cleaning
- an Allen key
- Tool for loosening the cartridge (pay attention to the manufacturer’s instructions)
In the first step, you close the shut-off or corner valves under the sink. Open the lever on your faucet and check that there is no more water flowing. It would help if you now closed the drain strainer. If small parts fall, they shouldn’t just disappear down the drain.
Look for the cap on the lever on your faucet. Loosen the cap and unscrew the bracket underneath with the Allen key. Now you can remove the lever. You put all the removed parts (and the new parts) on the cloth so that nothing can be lost. We can see the cartridge holder under the lever. You loosen it next so that you can remove the cartridge. Set the old cartridge aside so that you don’t confuse it with the new one. In the next step, you loosen the old bodylastics and pull them off. Now clean the faucet with a paper towel or a soft cotton cloth.
Conclusion: repair leaking faucet
Next, you put on the new sealing rings. Place them as the old ones sat. A little grease from the dashboard is attached. Next, you insert your new cartridge, stick it, and put the lever back on. When everything is installed, you open the valves and the drainage filter and check whether, firstly, the water is flowing again and, secondly, the tap is still dripping. Complete.
Fixing a leaky faucet sounds more complicated than it is. The repair can done in just a few steps and is cheaper than buying a new kitchen faucet.
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