Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers
Fix a Leaky Faucet Stem/Spout
Most older two-handle faucets have packing around the valve stem just under the packing nut to stop water from leaking up the valve stem and out around the base of the handles. Also, any faucet with a movable spout has either packing or an O-ring that will wear and become a potential leak. A small puddle of water at the base of your kitchen faucet could be caused by leaking packing or worn O-rings. Replacing the stem packing in the older faucets is easy, but sometimes the whole valve assembly has to be replaced on the newer types with O-rings. The spout packing or O-rings can be easily renewed. Turn off the water from below the fixture or at the main shut off valve.

1. Tighten spout nut: Spouts that enter the top of the faucet body are held in place with a large nut located at its base. Other type spouts that surround the faucet body are secured with a nut that is sometimes hidden under the control lever or the chrome faucet cover called the escutcheon cap. Some spouts are held in place with only the escutcheon cap. In many cases, leaks from the base of the spout can be stopped by simply tightening the spout nut.

2. Remove the spout nut: If tightening the nut does not stop the leak, you will have to replace the packing or ring. Put tape around the nut or ring to protect the finish and loosen it with a channel lock pliers. Twist the spout and pull it straight up and it will come out of the faucet. Take the spout to your local hardware store or home center and purchase new packing or an exact replacement O-ring.

Put petroleum jelly on the new O-ring when you reassemble the spout. If you replaced the packing, check that it fills the space around the spout and is compressed when you tighten the nut or ring. All of these type spouts have 2 O-rings at the top and bottom of the faucet body. You should replace both. Take the spout and the old O-rings to the store to be sure you purchase the correct size. Lubricate the O-rings with petroleum jelly when reassembling your faucet and spout.

3. Remove screw cover and handle screw: There is usually a decorative cover in the center of the handle that hides the handle screw. Use a screwdriver to pry this cover off. Then remove the screw and handle.

4. Remove packing nut and stem: Use an adjustable wrench to remove the large packing nut (turn it counter clockwise) at the top of the faucet body. Then twist out (counter clockwise) the valve stem. If it is stuck, put the handle back on to give you a better grip on the stem.

5. Take the packing nut and stem to hardware store: There are several types of packing and dozens of O-rings, so take the stem and packing nut to the hardware store or home center to be sure you get an exact replacement. The packing will most likely look like string. If you can't get to the store, a temporary repair can be made to the faucets using packing by wrapping string around the stem above the old packing. Reassemble the faucet and tighten the packing nut. The string should tighten the old packing enough to temporarily stop the leak. On a newer O-ring sealed stem, apply petroleum jelly to the O-ring and reassemble the faucet. It might stop the leak until you can make the permanent repair.

Written by the editors of HouseNet.
Copyright HouseNet, Inc.

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