At Advocate Master Plumbing we’ve been doing faucet repair & installations for 30 years. We repair & install faucets of many different types in Lee’s Summit. Since moving the business to become your local Lee’s Summit plumber we’ve continued our faucet services. This includes a continued education in faucet products. With these new faucets have come new problems. Some of the most common faucet troubleshooting questions we have come across are discussed below with possible solutions. Remember that we’re the professional plumbers. Call us for your faucet repair & installation needs. You’re good at your job. Let us be good at ours.
Faucet repair & installation troubleshooting questions with possible solutions are in the remainder of our faucet services page. We hope they are of some assistance. Feel free to skip ahead to your particular issue by clicking the following links.
- Why is my faucet leaking?
- What happened to my faucet water pressure?
- Why is my faucet noisy?
- How do you install a faucet?
- What kind of faucet should I buy?
Why is my faucet leaking?
A leaking faucet can be caused by many different things. And when troubleshooting a faucet leak the faucet brand, faucet style and faucet location must be considered. While many plumbing repairs can be deceptively simple looking when watching your favorite DIY show, we at Advocate Master Plumbing highly recommend you hire a master plumber.
Why is my bathroom sink faucet leaking?
If you have a standard one or two handle bathroom sink faucet leak a simple faucet stem replacement should suffice. Sometimes it’s a cartridge replacement for a single handle valve. Identify the faucet manufacturer, get a new stem or cartridge and repair your faucet.
Why is my kitchen faucet leaking?
A leaking kitchen faucet is very different from a bathroom sink faucet, leaking shower faucet or outdoor faucet. A kitchen faucet serves a very specific purpose. It usually comes with different parts. A kitchen faucet drip at the spout is usually a symptom of a damaged faucet stem or faucet cartridge and can be repaired very much like a bathroom sink faucet. But sometimes a leaking sprayer connection can leak down the faucet hose and under the sink. A vegetable sprayer hose collar assembly may not by sealed to the sink properly and will allow water to get under the sink as well. There is a threaded connection at the base of the faucet sprayer that can loosen. If so, it will leak under the sink. Tighten the threaded connection. If this doesn’t work then replace the washer at the base of the sprayer.
Why is my shower faucet leaking?
A leaking shower faucet or shower valve is usually approached the same as a standard bathroom sink faucet. But you’ll have to shut the water off to the whole house for most shower faucet repairs. Shower faucets are more likely to need some gentle sanding with either a scrubbing sponge or mesh cloth to remove hard water deposits under the valve cartridge. If you’re not sure the valve is leaking just count between drops from the shower head. If it becomes progressively longer between drips it means the shower head is just emptying itself. Here’s how to replace a Moen shower faucet cartridge, rebuild an older model Delta shower faucet & replace a newer standard Delta shower faucet cartridge.
Why is my wall faucet leaking?
A wall faucet leak, wall hydrant leak or spigot leak at the spout is usually a stem bibb washer or damaged stem. If you’re getting water inside your hose while using your garden hose then you probably have a burst frost-free hydrant. This is caused by leaving a garden hose connected to a wall hydrant during cold weather. The hose prevents the frost-free wall faucet from draining is it is designed. The trapped water freezes, swells and splits the faucet housing. It won’t leak until the faucet is turned on. The leak is hidden from view inside the wall. Imagine a kitchen faucet spout with a split along the side. It would only out the side if you turned it on.
An outdoor faucet will often leak at the handle. This is normally a simple fix. There’s a nut at the base of the handle called the packing nut or pack nut. Underneath it is a material that prevents water from leaking out around the handle. Over time the packing material can shrink and begin to leak. Simply tighten this nut and the leak should stop.
What happened to my faucet water pressure?
Faucet water pressure and faucet water flow are very interdependent. Usually water flow is what my plumbing customers mean. And again, the type of faucet you’re talking about will dictate the answer. below you’ll see the most common answers to the most common faucet troubleshooting questions.
What happened to my bathroom sink faucet water pressure?
Low faucet water pressure is actually low water flow in plumbing terminology. And the first thing to check when you have a kitchen faucet water flow restriction on both the hot and cold side is a clogged aerator. The aerator is the threaded connection at the tip of the bathroom faucet spout. It has screens in it that get clogged with small particles in your water. You can clean your faucet aerator or replace it.
If your faucets have low water flow on just the hot or cold, not both, then it’s probably the water shut off that needs replacement. The old multi-turn style angle stops have problems with seals crumbling and clogging the faucet water supply. You’ll need to replace your faucet water shutoff.
What happened to my kitchen faucet water pressure?
A kitchen faucet can have a water flow restriction due to a damaged diverter stem. A diverter stem diverts the water from the spout to a separate vegetable sprayer. And the diverter stem is almost always in the faucet valve body or at the base of the spout on a 2 handle kitchen faucet. If it’s a single handle kitchen faucet you’ll need to pull it completely apart to replace the diverter stem. If it’s a 2 handle kitchen faucet you can pull off the faucet spout and simply remove the diverter stem. This will buy you some time until you can either replace the faucet or hire a professional master plumber.
What happened to my shower faucet water pressure?
Shower faucet water restrictions are a big plumbing customer complaint. Most people don’t realize that shower heads come with water flow restrictors installed. This is for water conservation purposes. I prefer to remove them from shower head. But I’ll leave it in the kids showers. The more water flow you have the more water, especially hot water, that you waste. That means a cold shower for the next person. Shower faucets also have screens that get clogged. So simply clean your shower head much like the faucet aerator. But a damaged water pressure reducing valve could also be the culprit. The seals inside a water pressure reducing valve can become a flow restriction.
Another possible cause of low water pressure in the shower faucet is a damaged or seized pressure balancing valve. In most modern shower faucets manufacturers install a part that equalizes water flow even when someone flushes a toilet while it’s running. This pressure balancing will be disrupted, as will your water flow, if there are hard water deposits in the shower faucet cartridge. These will normally only be on a single handle shower faucet. You’ll need to have the shower faucet cartridge replaced.
What happened to my wall faucet water pressure?
A water flow restriction in a wall faucet is less complicated. If you notice less water coming out of your spigot or wall hydrant it could be a damaged stem that’s stuck. It could also be debris in the water line. But if it’s your frost-free hydrant you might want to check in your basement for puddles or squishy carpet. If you have a burst frost-free hydrant wall faucet you’ll notice low water pressure and low water flow while using your garden hose. That’s because half the water is flowing inside your basement or crawl space. You’ll need to replace your wall hydrant.
Why is my faucet noisy?
A noisy faucet of any type can mean a few different things. I’ve heard water pipes pounding inside the walls as faucets were turned on. Most of these things are relatively simple to deal with. But let’s explore the different scenarios with each faucet type.
Why is my bathroom sink faucet noisy?
A noisy bathroom sink faucet is common. Excessive water pressure can cause faucet noises. A damaged stem can cause whistling noises in your faucet. A whistling faucet can be from a flow restriction in the faucet water shutoff or aerator. A pounding noise when running your bathroom sink faucet is usually indicative of a damaged faucet water shutoff, a broken faucet stem or damaged water pressure reducing valve. After you clean the faucet aerator you better just call your local Lee’s Summit plumber at Advocate Master Plumbing.
Why is my kitchen faucet noisy?
A noisy kitchen faucet can be caused by all the reasons for a noisy bathroom sink faucet. A noisy kitchen faucet can also be caused by a sticking diverter stem. A diverter stem works much in the same way as a shower faucet pressure balancing valve. When hard water deposits restrict the movement of a diverter stem it can create a machine gun effect. This can be scary but it’s not that big a deal. Either remove or repair the diverter stem or replace the faucet.
Why is my shower faucet noisy?
A noisy shower faucet can mean a damaged shower valve cartridge. Especially, if the shower faucet didn’t make noise before. But excessive water pressure can cause a noisy shower faucet. A damaged water pressure reducing valve can create noises. But before calling your local Lee’s Summit plumber I’d recommend removing your shower head and turning on the shower faucet. If you still have a noisy shower faucet then you have a problem. If you don’t it’s probably a flow restriction in your shower head. Just clean the shower head or replace it. You can also go to How do you perform a Moen faucet repair for Moen shower valve repair options and Delta shower faucet repair for both the older and newer Delta Monitor shower valve repair instructions with videos.
Why is my wall faucet noisy?
A noisy wall faucet, wall hydrant or spigot usually means you either have a damaged valve or excessive water pressure or both. A damaged stem will vibrate on and off very quickly. This can give you that machine gun effect. A damaged stem can squeak badly when turned off and on. This is usually due to a warped stem or broken threads inside the faucet. Excessive water pressure creates noise because it’s damaging your plumbing. In any case, call us at Advocate Master Plumbing. We’ll perform a full plumbing diagnostic, offer you all the information with options and allow you to make an informed decision. A decision based upon your homes needs and not high pressure sales techniques. This usually means you need to install a new wall hydrant. For information on general costs go to “What does a wall hydrant repair cost”.
How do you install a faucet?
I enjoy those DIY t.v. shows as much as everyone else. But I cringe when I hear a customer is learning plumbing repair from them. I can assure you, installing a faucet is almost always more difficult and complicated than it sounds. I have just about every power tool known to man. And I’ve used them all while installing faucets. If you must try to do it yourself please be sure you can shut the water off to the faucet first. And don’t attempt it on a Sunday.
How do you install a bathroom sink faucet?
A bathroom sink faucet installation can be easy if the old one isn’t too old. Usually you’ll need to know how to install a Delta faucet or how to install a Moen faucet. But you’ll want to replace the pop-up assembly as well. A pop-up assembly is the drain connection with the built-in drain plug that comes with most bathroom sink faucets. If you think squeezing into a small cabinet and working in the dark is hard wait until you start messing with the drains. Unless you’ve done it before, just don’t. Call us.
How do you install a kitchen faucet?
A kitchen faucet installation can be easy as well. If you see old brass mounting nuts on a cast iron sink or stainless steel sink, just stop. You’re going to need specialty plumbing tools like a basin wrench or cordless grinder to remove them. But if the old kitchen faucet isn’t that old you may get lucky and it’ll just unscrew. You’ll still need to address the soap dispenser or vegetable sprayer collar. Again, it’s best to let us do our jobs. Call the pro’s at Advocate Master Plumbing where you’ll always get a seasoned master plumber.
How do you install a shower faucet?
A shower faucet installation is one of the most difficult plumbing repairs we do. The shower valve body is inside your wall mounted to wood studs. The water connections are soldered directly into the shower valve. To solder inside an existing wall with wood, sawdust, insulation and all manner of other flammable materials is dangerous. I recommend that you not only avoid shower faucet replacements but hire the best plumber you can find. A master plumber will often be able to install your new shower faucet in such a way that it looks like it’s always been there.
How do you install a wall faucet?
A burst wall hydrant is a common spring time job. If you’re comfortable soldering copper around the wood framing of your home then you may be up to a frostless wall faucet installation. Some spigots simply thread onto your water pipes. But before attempting to unscrew the broken spigot be sure you can shut the water off to it. If the threads break or the water pipes twist you don’t want to have to do without water.
What kind of faucet should I buy?
Whether you are going to attempt your own faucet installation or not, I normally recommend you purchase your own bathroom sink faucet or kitchen faucet. These are both easily accessible. You won’t have to worry about warranty issues nearly as much. If you have your plumber purchase the faucet to be installed it will be assumed you want a warranty on the faucet itself and not just the workmanship. That warranty will cost extra. If they’re easily accessible you won’t have to worry about wall repairs.
What kind of bathroom sink faucet should I buy
If you purchase either a Moen or Delta brand faucet you’ll get a lifetime warranty. And they’re a good value faucet. Remember to get a bathroom sink faucet with the pop-up drain assembly so the sink drain finish matches the faucet finish. And save a few more bucks by purchasing your own flexible stainless steel faucet supply tubes.
What kind of kitchen faucet should I buy?
Kitchen faucets are the focal point of your kitchen. For that reason choosing a new kitchen faucet is a tremendously personal decision. Always lean toward a Moen or Delta faucet. The most popular style is the large goose-neck pull down spout faucet with a single handle. Whether you purchase a standard kitchen faucet, touch kitchen faucet or sensor kitchen faucet, they usually come with integral flexible water supply tubes. Be sure to count the faucet holes in your sink. This will be important information for the salesman at your home store. Even better, take a picture of the sink.
What kind of shower faucet should I buy?
If you have a shower faucet installed allow the plumber to purchase the Moen Posi-temp shower valve for you. Let the plumber foot the wall repair bill to access it if there’s a manufacturers defect. Moen Posi-temp shower faucets are a quality faucet that’s easily repaired. Parts are common and affordable. And that valve is so compact that it’s much easier to install in tight places. I can often avoid cutting the drywall behind the shower and tile in the shower.
What kind of wall faucet should I buy?
Let the plumber purchase the wall faucet or freezless wall faucet for you too. It’s inside the wall. It’s not worth the gamble that you’ll need a warranty frostless hydrant installation. Whenever an exterior faucet installation is needed it’s usually due to a frozen and burst wall faucet. For that reason, I prefer to install the Woodford model 19 frost-free hydrant. It’s a common, well built spigot that has a built in relief valve. This relief valve will relieve water pressure if the faucet starts to freeze and then reset itself. That means that if you leave the garden hose attached over winter it won’t break. I don’t understand why they aren’t installed to begin with.
You’re good at your job. Let us be good at ours.
There’s no doubt that there are many talented DIY home owners out there. But there aren’t many. I promise you there are good Lee’s Summit plumbers out there. But again, not many. Call Advocate Master Plumbing. Let us send a seasoned master plumber to your home every time. We’ll respect your home and earn your trust. And unlike most other plumbers we don’t have the Mary Poppins complex, “Practically perfect in every way.” We make mistakes. But we’ll make you aware of them and make it right. We guarantee it.
