Drip, Drop, Stop: Basic Home Sink Repair
Not every homeowner is Joe or Jane Fixit. There's nothing wrong with that and no reason they should be. However, anybody can save themselves a fair amount of money if they master some of the most basic, frequently-used home repair skills. When a sink faucet starts leaking, you're not only letting money go down the drain with the wasted water; you're also putting an undue strain on your plumbing fixtures that will make them less durable. Fixing a leaky sink is a skill that's easy to pick up, and you can save yourself a lot of money if you learn how to do it. As you're about to see, it's really not too hard.
As with any plumbing project, your first step is to shut off the flow of water to the afflicted area. In the case of a leaky sink, this usually means shutting the stop valve located underneath the sink itself. Most stop valves have a distinctive, oval-shaped handle that's pretty hard to miss. You'll want to use firm pressure to close the valve, but don't force it. Use lubricating oil to free a stuck valve rather than applying more pressure. (A broken stop valve is a much bigger plumbing problem than a leaky sink!)
Once you've shut off the water going to the sink in question, prepare the area for work by stopping the drain. This is important because you're going to be fiddling with small parts, e.g. screws, bolts and washers. You definitely don't want to see them disappear down the drain! If your sink has an integrated drain plug, it's still a good idea to put a washcloth over the drain for added protection.
When you get to the actual repair job, what you'll do first is remove the screw cover. This is the decorative bit of the faucet handle that you actually operate, and it conceals the screw that actually controls the flow of water. Ideally, you actually have the instructions for your faucet set so that you can read about the proper way to remove the cover. Realistically, you'll have to use a little bit of gentle trial and error to gain access to the screw. A screwdriver used as a lever usually gets the job done.
Once you have the cover off, you'll see the working parts of your handle: A screw, a nut and a washer. Replacing the washer will solve a good 90% of leaking sinks; replacing the screw too will take care of almost all of the rest. All you have to do is loosen the nut with a wrench or pair of pliers and remove the screw and washer. In order to make this a one-hardware-store-trip job, take the old screw and washer with you to the store and get replacements that match exactly.
With your replacements in hand, finishing off the repair job is a simple matter of reassembling the faucet in the same way you took it apart. Seat the new washer, install the new screw, and tighten them in place with the nut. Make sure the nut is tight without forcing it down too hard. Over-tightening the nut will make the handle difficult or even impossible to operate. Once you replace the screw cover, do a quick check for leftover parts before you turn the water back on and check your faucet. Your leak should be history!
As you can see, repairing a leaky sink is among the simplest of basic home maintenance chores. It's easy to learn how to do it, and you'll have the skills down cold after your first repair job. Once you've actually had the experience of fixing a sink, you'll be ready to solve the next such problem with confidence when it turns up.
