Spring is here and we all a little more alone time than anticipated! This is a great time to check up on all your appliances both indoors and outside to make sure they are in working order. Some outdoor fixtures such as spigots and yard hydrants may not be the first thing that comes to mind when checking on your appliances, but they are just as important to inspect. Although a leaky spigot may not cause any immediate issues,it can lead to hundreds of unnecessary dollars on your water bill!
If you’ve found your spigot to be leaking after the cold winter, this DIY repair guide will tell you everything you need to know about fixing your spigot for this spring!
The most common places for a spigot to leak from are the handle and the spout, so let’s take a closer look at these two problem areas:
If you notice that your spigot is leaking from the handle, tighten the packing nut with a wrench. Once you tighten the nut, if the leaking still continues or starts to come from the spout, you will need to take the spigot apart.- Shut off the water supply before disassembling your spigot. It will either have a single shutoff switch on the inside of your home, or you will have to switch off the main water supply valve for your house, which is usually located in a basement, or crawl space.
- Next, you will have to drain the remaining water left in the spigot’s supply. To do this, we simply suggest putting a bucket under your spigot and turning the handle to drain the remaining water from the pipes.
- Once the water is completely drained from the spigot, take off the handle. To do this, unscrew the screws that is holding it in place, and remove the handle. Set the screws aside for reassembly and be careful not to lose them!
- Now that the handle is off, you should find the valve stem behind it secured by a packing nut. Loosen the packing nut with a wrench or pliers and slide out the valve assembly.
- There are a few different types of valve stems for spigots, but almost all will have either one or two washers.
The most common cause of leaky spigots is worn down washers, so inspect the washers and determine if they need to be replaced. Simply loosen the packing nut on your valve stem and check out the washer behind it. Another spot where the washer could be worn down is at the base of the valve stem. If there is a washer at the base of your valve stem, simply unscrew the screw holding the washer in place and inspect it. If the washer seems worn down at all, this is likely the cause of your leak! - In order to make sure you get the right job tool for the job, we suggest that you take the worn-down washer to your local plumbing or hardware store and talk to an associate to ensure you get a perfect replacement. Replacement washers should not cost more than a few dollars!
- Once you have purchased your new washer(s), simply remove the worn down washers and replace them with the new ones, making sure that everything is screwed back into place and tightened.
- Now that you have your valve stem ready to go, you will need to reinsert it into the spigot. Slide the valve stem back into the faucet, and tighten the packing nut to hold it in place. We suggest that you use a wrench to tighten it all the way, but be careful not to over-tighten the valve stem as this could damage it.
- Lastly, you will need to reattach the handle by screwing it back into place. Once the handle is attached to your spigot, you can turn the water supply back on and test it out. Your leaky spigot will now be fixed, potentially saving you loads of money on your water bill!
We hope that you found this guide useful, and if you would like some extra instruction, we found this video guide very helpful!
