How to fix a dripping tap in your Chicago Home

A dripping tap means wastage of water and rising water bills without any use (which could be really expensive!)  It could also lead to damage of property raising your insurance claims.

Repairing is the best solution, you may try some DIY  procedures to fix your dripping tap, or,  you can avoid the hassle and contact a professional plumber in Chicago.

There are many plumbing agencies that offer smart service by immediately fixing dripping taps. In case you have some technical skills and wish to try out things on your own at first, you can follow the steps.

At first you need to turn off the water supply and this is really easy when the isolation vales are located in close proximity to the tap. You can even identify whether ceramic washers are fixed to the tap or rubber washers.

If you have a rubber washer tap, you simply need to change the small washer and if it’s a ceramic one, you need to replace the entire valve. Torn O-rings are usually the cause of a leaking tap mainly in the kitchen. So if the tap is still dripping water after replacing the washer, it’s the O-rings that are responsible.

Rubber washers are delicate so you need to protect and take adequate care while turning the tap on and off. Do not over-tighten while turning off the tap to prevent a dripping tap.

Steps to fixing a dripping tap

1. Turn the water supply – Run the tap and make sure there is no more water in it.
2. The screw – The screw is important because it hold the entire tap in a place together. Loosen the screws to make necessary repairs. The screw is mainly hidden beneath the stylish cold and hot caps located on the tap top or sometimes beneath the cold and hot indicator. It’s easy to use your hands to unscrew the caps or just use a screwdriver.
3. Taking tap apart – You need to take off the head of the tap and there could be a piece of metal covering the tap neck safeguarding the valve, just take that off as well.
4. Ceramic disc replacement–The metal shroud covers the valve, use an adjustable spanner to turn it, once it’s loose just remove. Place the new cartridge in and fix the tap.
5. Changing the rubber washer–Slide the old rubber washer and put on the new one. Put back the valve and the tap back
6. O-ring replacement–The O-ring is a bigger size washer located at the bottom of the tap spout. The O-ring is located at the base; take a screw-driver to replace the old ring with the new one. Use a pair of scissors to snip it off and tighten the grub screw again.

Its wise of you get repair a dripping tap on time, or else you might have to call an emergency plumber agency in your Chicago home. It’s a real head ache if the tap continues to drip and if you cannot spot the problem, call a plumber.