Bathtub Faucets: What You Should Know About Fixing Leaking Bathtub Faucets

Who would look forward to the annoying sound of a constantly dripping leaking bathtub faucet with undiluted pleasure? Unpleasant noise isn’t of course the only issue. Water gets wasted and the tub gets stained with all the minerals that the water carries with it.

If you happen to have a leaking faucet in your home or apartment, the only thing to do would be to get it fixed at the earliest. Here are some tips on how to fix a leaking bathtub faucet.

   1. As they say, first things first. Stop the water supply to the bathtub.

   2. Unscrew the handle of the faucet just to loosen it.
You will be able to see how the faucet is held together by the screw.

There may be a plate covering the screw, in which case take out the plate to reach the screw. Typically, Philips or flat are the types of screws used. As each requires a different type of screw driver, have both types of screw drivers available on hand.

   3. Leaking faucets are mainly caused by damaged or worn out washers.
After removing the handle check the condition of the washers. If they need to be replaced find out their sizes.Take the damaged washer along with you to the hard ware store to get a similar washer.

   4. Put the new washer in place. Then replace the handle and tighten up every thing. Avoid tightening too much.

   5. Onve you have managed to put everything back together, turn on the water supply the faucet to see if it still leaks. Also, take a close look at the handle to check if water is leaking through it. If there is water leaking then further tighten the handle.

   6. If on opening up the faucet the washer is found undamaged, then a loosened faucet could be causing the leak. Use an adjustable wrench to tighten the faucet a bit, taking care not to overtighten. When water stops leaking, stop tightening the faucet.

   7. In case the leak isn’t due to a damaged washer or a loose faucet and you cannot determine the cause, the best thing to do would be to call a plumber.

   8. In case the water has indeed stopped leaking, you might want to run some tests.

   9. Turn on the faucet and wait. It takes some time for a leak to appear. If there is a leak it will get bigger with time..

  10. Turn on both the cold and the hot taps one at a time. If things still look good after a while, you may be almost certain that the leak is gone.

  11. Inspect the area around the handles and the area where the faucet connects with the bath tub for any leaks.

Faucet repairs must always be immediately inspected otherwise the problem becomes worse.

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