A dripping faucet might seem like a minor annoyance, but if you’ve ever found yourself lying awake at night listening to that steady plop plip plop in the sink, you know how frustrating it can be. More importantly, a leaky faucet can waste hundreds of gallons of water over time, driving up your water bills, and potentially even causing damage to your home. If you’re wondering why is the faucet dripping inside my home?, we’re here to help. Read on to discover how faucets work, reasons why yours might be dripping, how to fix a leaking faucet, and when it’s time to call in a professional.
How Does a Faucet Work?
Before trying to troubleshoot and fix a leaking faucet, it’s helpful to have a basic understanding of how faucets work.
With municipal water systems, such as the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board, water travels from treatment plants through a network of increasingly smaller pipes, eventually reaching your home. Once inside your pipes, water splits into hot and cold lines: one routed through a water heater, and the other straight to your faucet. When you turn a faucet handle in your home, you’re opening a valve that allows pressurized water to flow into the open air of your sink. Faucets work by controlling this release, and how they do it depends on the type.
There are five main types of faucet: compression faucets, which rely on rubber washers; diaphragm faucets, which use a rubber membrane to regulate flow; disc faucets, known for their ceramic discs; cartridge faucets, which move a cartridge up and down to control water; and rotating-ball faucets, which control flow with a slotted ball and springs. Each type has its own internal mechanisms that all serve the same purpose: offering homeowners precise control for water flow and temperature.
Why Is My Faucet Dripping? Common Causes You Should Know
Before you can fix a dripping faucet, you need to understand what’s behind it.
Here are the five most frequent answers to the question: Why is my faucet dripping?:
1. Your Faucet Has Worn-Out or Broken Washers
One of the top answers to “Why is my faucet dripping?” is a worn washer. Washers form a seal between the valve seat and the faucet spout. Every time you turn a faucet on or off, the washer presses against the valve seat. Over time, this repetitive motion causes friction that eventually wears the washer out. Once that happens, water starts to sneak past the weakened seal and drip out of the faucet.
How to Fix This: Replacing a washer in your faucet is a relatively easy DIY fix. We recommend this helpful YouTube tutorial if you want to repair it yourself. Make sure to use the correct size washer for your faucet; we recommend bringing the old washer with you to the hardware store to find a perfect match. Don’t want to risk a bathroom flood with a DIY gone wrong? We’ll bee right there–contact a professional at Goodbee Plumbing and we’ll buzz on by.
2. There’s a Damaged Cartridge in Your Dripping Faucet
If your faucet has two handles — one for hot and one for cold — you likely have a cartridge faucet. Each handle has its own cartridge, a sealing mechanism that controls the flow and temperature of the stream of water. Cartridges open and close your water supply when you turn the handle on and off. When one (or both) of these cartridges is damaged or worn, it can lead to a leaky faucet.
How to Fix This: To solve this, you’ll need to remove the handle and replace the old cartridge. Turn off your water supply, use a hex key/Allen wrench to remove your faucet handle, loosen the ring keeping the cartridge in place, pull the old cartridge out, replace it with a new one, re-assemble your faucet, and you should be leak-free.
3. The O-Ring in Your Faucet Isn’t Working
The O-ring is a small rubber ring that fits around the stem screw of the faucet handle. It helps hold the handle in place and creates a seal to prevent water from leaking out around the base. Over time, this O-ring can loosen or deteriorate, which can cause leaks from your faucet or its handles.
How to Fix This: Replacing an O-ring in a faucet is another quick DIY fix. First, turn off your water supply. After you remove your faucet handle, remove any additional components, such as retaining nuts or collars. Remove and replace your faucet’s O-ring, reassemble your faucet, and remember to turn your water supply back on. Again, when doing a DIY replacement, we recommend bringing the old part to the store to ensure you get the correctly sized O-ring for your specific faucet.
4. Your Faucet’s Valve Seat is Corroded
The valve seat connects the faucet to the spout and is prone to corrosion, especially in Louisiana homes that generally tend to have hard water. Mineral deposits can build up over time and erode the valve seat, creating tiny gaps that allow water to leak through.
How to Fix This: If you suspect a corroded valve seat, you can clean the valve seat with white vinegar and a scrub brush. In more severe cases, replacing your valve seat may be necessary.
5. There are Water Pressure Issues Making the Faucet Drip
If your faucet only leaks at certain times of the day, or when the handle is positioned a certain way, your home’s water pressure could be the cause. Excessive pressure can prevent water from flowing freely, forcing it out through cracks or weak spots in the faucet assembly.
How to Fix This: Adjusting your home’s water pressure is a job for a professional plumber, especially if pressure issues are affecting other fixtures in your home as well.
Why You Shouldn’t Ignore a Dripping Faucet
If you’re still wondering, “Why is my faucet dripping, and should I be concerned?” the answer is yes. Here’s why you should act fast:
- Wasted Water = Wasted Money
A slow leak can waste more than 30 gallons of water per day. That adds up fast on your water bill. - Hidden Water Damage
Even small leaks can lead to pooling water under your sink or behind walls, which causes rot, mildew, and mold over time. - Worsening Damage
Minor leaks can become major ones if ignored, potentially leading to a full faucet failure or pipe issues.
When to Call the Pros
DIY repairs can work for small issues like a worn washer or O-ring. But if you’ve tried the steps above and your faucet is still dripping—or if you’re not confident in your plumbing skills—it’s best to contact a licensed plumber. We can diagnose underlying issues beyond your leaky faucet, from water pressure imbalance, to corroded or damaged pipes, and fix the problem for good.
Give us a Buzz for Your Plumbing Needs
If you’ve ever asked, Why is my faucet dripping?, you now know there’s more than one possible answer. Don’t let that tiny drip turn into a costly disaster. Fixing a leaky faucet will save you money and prevent water damage to your home. Address a dripping faucet early, either with a quick trip to the hardware store or by giving your friendly neighborhood plumber a buzz at 985-893-1883.