You might be the king or queen of your kitchen, but the leakage in your faucet will not surely treat you like that. It is pretty frustrating when you are facing such an instance in the kitchen.
After going through that, you also have the hassle of fixing the kitchen faucet. Remember one thing, if you know the reasons why does a kitchen faucet actually drip, you can avoid it pretty easily.
Now, you might be asking that what are those reasons then? So, let us discover them one by one.
Why does a kitchen faucet drip?
There can be various reasons behind the drip in your faucet. The most common reasons are rust, deterioration, accumulation of minerals, severe water pressure, and defective or broken gasket, seal, cartridge, or O-ring. Sometimes your recklessness in the kitchen is also a reason behind the drip.
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What causes a kitchen faucet to drip? – 8 reasons to know
Now without any further ado, let us go to the details. Read them carefully to get rid of the hassle.
Water compression:
Just observe your kitchen faucet carefully. If you are identifying dripping during particular times of a day or when you are rotating the handles in some particular directions, then you got your culprit. This happens mostly due to severe water compression.
Damaged inlet and outlet seal:
The accumulation of the minerals in the seals (inlet and outlet) of your faucet can create the drip.
Cracked internals:
If you are observing a drip just at the lower portion of your kitchen sink, then it is because of the broken internals. In this case, without any further ado call a professional.
Corrasion in valve seats:
If you observe that the drip is happening from the sprout, then without any hesitation you can conclude that it is happening from the corrosion in the valve seats. This actually happens when the water sediments are depositing gradually in the valves.
Broken cartridge:
If your plumber is assuring you about leakage in the cartridge, then it is the reason behind the drip.
Without entirely replacing the cartridge, you can’t solve this problem. And remember that you need a same-sized cartridge to replace the older one.
Loose internals:
Sometimes the drip in your kitchen faucet happens due to losing screws, nuts, gaskets, and rings. Also, When the washers, seals, or cartridges are not placed tightly in the right place, the leakage can occur anytime.
Damage washers:
Subtle damages in the washer can cause dripping. A washer is a part that sits opposite and close to the valve seats. The friction between these two parts harms the washer which ultimately creates drip in the faucet.
Bad O-ring:
O-ring is mainly found in cartridge faucets. It is a tiny internal part that is connected to the stem screw. O-rings are there to hold the handles of the faucet tightly.
If the leakage is happening from the handles, then surely the problem is with the O-ring. Thus, you need to change it immediately.
How do I stop my kitchen faucet from dripping? – 8 steps to stop
Are you frustrated with your drippy kitchen faucet? Then, here are 8 easy steps to fix the situation for you.
Step 1: At first, you need to know what type of faucet you have. Is it a Cartridge faucet, a Ceramic faucet, or a Ball faucet? These are the common kitchen faucets available in the market.
Step 2: Now, immediately stop the water flow and check the two pipes beneath the sink. With the help of your hands, rotate the pipes clockwise to entirely stop the water flow.
Step 3: Connect the drain to a sink plug so that you might not lose any tiny internal part while repairing the faucet.
All the internal parts, such as the screws, nuts, and rings, are essential to reassemble the faucet. So be very careful with them. Otherwise, you might lose them.
Step 4: Now, find the screw that connects the handle to the stem by removing the outer part of the handle.
Step 5: After finding that screw just rotate it anticlockwise to unscrew the handle from the stem and put it in a safe place.
Step 6: Take a wrench and unscrew all the nuts. When you have unpacked all the screws observe everything carefully. If you find any damage to the internals, just replace them with a suitable one.
Step 7: If you do not find any damage there, immediately check the washer and the O-ring in the valve seats. If you find any issue there, immediately find suitable replacements for them.
Step 8: now assemble all the parts together to get your sink working. Test it by turning on the water flow and check whether everything is okay or not.
Note one thing, even after following all the steps properly if you are still facing the same issue; then it is best to call an experienced plumber to have a look.
Why does a kitchen faucet leak? – 4 major reasons
Whether you are having leakage or a drip in your faucet, these are quite frustrating for you. So, now we will discover 4 major reasons behind the leakage in your kitchen faucet.
Issue with the O-ring:
O-rings are responsible to hold the handles of a kitchen sink. This is a part from which most of the leaking occurs in a kitchen sink.
Leaks can occur when the O-ring is damaged from over usage, or it is not properly sat in its place. To Fix it, you must change the O-ring immediately.
Issues with the Washer:
If your washer is not properly installed in its place, then you will surely face water leakage. Another thing to remember is that you always need to pick the right size washer to make your sink work properly.
These problems are pretty difficult to solve. And one must contact a professional plumber for that. It is better not to fix it on your own as it can cause further damage to the faucet.
Problems with the valve seat:
If you are reluctant to clean your sink, then there must be minerals depositing in the valves eventually. It will cause blockages in the normal flow of water and create leakage in the faucet.
In these cases, it is better to seek professional help. But if you want to rescue yourself from these situations, try to clean your sink regularly.
Cracked internals:
This is a common reason behind the leakage in the faucet. You know that with regular use, the internals of getting wore out. Especially, the washer takes the most amount of beating.
With each use, the washer collides with the valve seats and gets damaged. This is one of the common reasons behind the leakage in faucets.
Other than that, the gaskets, rings, and screws also get cracked over time and can cause leakage.
How do you fix a dripping kitchen faucet neck?
If your faucet is dripping from the neck. Then follow the 4 easy steps to fix it.
Step 1: Stop the water flow first.
Step 2: Take a pipe wrench, unscrew the outer part of the faucet, and uncover everything. Now check the O-ring, which is connecting the faucet neck to the sink. As your faucet is dripping from the neck, the problem relies on the O-ring.
Step 3: Now, change the old O-ring with a new one. To do it properly, use a screwdriver.
Step 4: After doing that, just put all the things together and reassemble the faucet.
Now you are good to go.
Why is my kitchen faucet leaking at the base?
It is quite unusual to see a leakage at the base of your kitchen faucet. If you are seeing that water is coming out from the place where your sink is connected with the faucet body, then there might be leakage at the base of your faucet.
Why does it happen?
This kind of leakage happens because the internal O-ring is broken or worn out. The O-ring actually connects the faucet with the sink. So, if there is a single crack on that part, then water leakage is quite common from the base.
Sometimes leakages also occur due to the damage in the internal cartridge. These things are pretty difficult to fix, and you must need professional help for that.
How to fix it?
To fix the problem, you have to immediately change the O-ring. But even after doing that, if the situation remains the same, check the internal cartridge and valve seats.
Sometimes the major problem is related to the valve or the internal cartridge. Thus, you need to change those immediately.
Why is my kitchen faucet leaking from the handle?
This kind of leaking is pretty common in kitchen faucets. Everyone faces it now and then.
Why does that happen?
When you are facing frequent water leakages, even after the faucet is turned off, then surely the problem is with handles.
This kind of leakage happens when the faucet is used for a long time. With time, the handles get loose, and leakage occurs.
How to fix it?
To solve this problem, you need to immediately tighten up the handles or change them. You can also call a professional to replace the seals or rings to tighten up the handles.
Sometimes you also have to change the internal cartridge and valves as the leakage might occur due to internal issues.
Why does my Moen kitchen faucet drip?
Water dripping in Moen kitchen faucets happens because of two major reasons. The first one occurs due to the damage of the O-ring. The second major reason is the problem with the handles.
So, if you are having dripping issues with your Moen faucet, just call a professional, ask him/her to test it, and replace the handle or the O-ring in regard to the issue.
Why does my Delta kitchen faucet drip?
The Delta kitchen faucets drip only for some particular reasons, and these are one of those faucets which are pretty easy to repair. Mostly these faucets drip when there is any damage to the washers, springs, valves, or seals.
You can pretty easily repair a Delta faucet just by picking up a repair kit from your local hardware store. But if you find some severe damage in the internals, then just replace the parts according to the model.
Why is my Grohe kitchen faucet leaking?
Typically, Grohe kitchen faucets leak when the cartridge, O-ring, or handles get broken. Other than that, these faucets are pretty durable.
It is fairly easy to repair Grohe kitchen faucets, and you do not even need professional help. Just pull out the broken cartridge or the O-ring and replace it with a suitable one.
Why is my Pfister kitchen faucet leaking?
Pfister kitchen faucets leak because of two reasons. The first type of leakage occurs from the base of these faucets, which is mainly due to the damage in the O-ring. And sometimes, leaks occur when valves seals or cartridges are damaged.
Remember one thing, these types of faucets deteriorate quite easily. So, don’t ever forget about the warranty or guarantee assurance from the company.
If your kitchen faucet suddenly leaks while you are working, it can be pretty irritating. Isn’t it! That’s why you need to know the reasons beforehand to take some immediate actions.
This article will surely help you in this path, and you will be able to handle such situations pretty easily.