One Fix For A Leaky Outdoor Faucet

One of the most annoying things is a leaky faucet. I find it especially annoying to turn on an outdoor faucet and have water dripping everywhere. The most common problem, if you're using a garden hose, is that the small gasket is missing that goes between the hose connector and the valve.

But what if the water is dripping out of the valve instead of the hose?

Let's look at this example... The other day I was using a client's outdoor hose to mix mortar to lay tile. It was a townhome and the water valve was actually located in the garage. It dripped badly. Soon it was running through the garage and pooling just outside the garage door.

For a while, I didn't bother with it. After all, I was there to tile, not to fix the plumbing, right?

Then, I couldn't take it anymore.

The fix for a leaky valve is usually so easy it seems silly. Get out a wrench and tighten the nut holding the handle on. You can see how I did it in the picture below. If that nut gets just a little bit too loose, the valve will not operate correctly and water will drip (or spray) out of the handle.

Don't overdo it, but just a little pressure with a wrench and the dripping should stop. If it doesn't, it's probably too worn out and needs replacement. Usually, they are just loose and need to be tightened up.

At least you can give this a try before you call the plumber and spend the big bucks.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com