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Can I fix a leaky faucet?

I have no experience with plumbing, but I am quite broke and can't afford to pay a professional. The leak is getting worse and I'm losing a lot of water. Is this something I can tackle myself with help from a hardware store and DIY sites, or do I really need a plumber? FYI this is my bathtub faucet, cold water only. I have separate handles for hot and cold and the faucet is separate from the handles. Thanks for all the answers, folks. I appreciate the support and advice. I'm tackling it this weekend. Wish me luck!

Public Comments

  1. Turn the water off, under the sink. Take the faucet apart and take it to Home Depot or Lowes'. They will be happy to help you find the correct sized rubber washer for it and basically show you how to repair it. After you get back home, put it all back together, turn the water back on (from under the sink) and you're done.
  2. You can! figure out what kind of faucet you have, then go to your local hardware store and ask them for help. They will be able to give you the parts you need and also tell you what you need to do. In most cases it should only take you a couple of minutes to fix. Just remember to turn the water off under the sink before you take anything apart. You can do this and it might be fun for you, and you will learn something new
  3. You can do it yourself. I don't know of any single site that covers every faucet repair situation, but a search on faucet repair brings up a number of good do it yourself repair websites. Include the brand of faucet you have in the search string. The hardware and home improvement stores are usually more than willing to look at parts you bring in and provide replacement parts and tips on how to do the job. A problem you may run into is that the washer or seal seat may be scored from water leaking past it. In that case you will either need to replace or resurface the washer seat or replace the faucet. Tools and parts for that are also available from the hardware stores.
  4. unless your time is worth nothing and you are very handy you should always replace, not repair. a new faucet will cost less than $100 and you wont have to guess or go back and forth. i always reccommend replacement and have never had someone complain. been doin it for 40 years
  5. You might check the following web site and it explains how to replace packing and or washer with illustrations. ...Good Luck... http://www.slowtheflow.com/PDFs/compressionfaucets.pdf