How to Fix a Leaky Faucet (Every Type): Step-by-Step Repair Guide

To stop a faucet from dripping, turn off the water supply under the sink, remove the handle, and replace the worn part inside the valve: a rubber washer or O-ring on older compression faucets, or the cartridge, ball kit, or ceramic-disk seals on modern single-handle models. Most repairs take 30 to 60 minutes with basic hand tools.

Which part depends on where the leak appears and which of the four faucet types you own; this guide covers both, then walks through the repair for every type.

What Causes a Leaky Faucet?

Almost every faucet leak traces back to one of five causes, and all of them live inside the valve assembly that controls water flow:

• Worn washer or O-ring. Rubber parts compress, harden, and crack with age and use. This is the single most common cause of a dripping spout.
• Corroded valve seat. Mineral deposits and corrosion pit the brass seat the washer presses against, so the two can no longer form a seal.
• Loose internal parts. Packing nuts, adjusting rings, and retaining clips work loose over years of handle turns, letting water sneak past.
• High water pressure. Pressure consistently above 80 psi forces water past seals that would otherwise hold, often causing intermittent drips.
• Worn cartridge. On most modern faucets, the cartridge is the valve. When its internal seals wear out, the faucet drips or the handle gets stiff.

Diagnose the Leak by Where Water Appears

Before you take anything apart, watch where the water actually shows up. The location tells you which part failed and, in one case, whether the faucet is even the problem.

Drip from the spout tip. Water dripping from the spout with the handle off means the valve is no longer sealing. On compression faucets, suspect the washer or the valve seat; on single-handle faucets, suspect the cartridge, the ball seals, or an O-ring. Before disassembling the valve, unscrew the aerator at the very tip of the spout and check for mineral buildup, since a clogged aerator can look like a spout leak and takes about two minutes to rule out.

Leak at the handle or base. Water seeping around the handle while the faucet runs usually points to a worn O-ring, a loose packing nut, or a cartridge retainer that needs tightening. These leaks often stop when the water is off, which is why they go unnoticed for months.

Water pooling under the sink. Check the supply lines and shutoff valves before you blame the faucet. A loose compression fitting or a weeping shutoff valve is a more common source of under-sink water than the faucet body itself. Dry every connection with a cloth, run the faucet, and feel each joint for fresh moisture before you disassemble anything above the counter.

How Much Does a Leaky Faucet Really Cost You?

A drip runs 24 hours a day. The figures below are illustrative estimates using a typical municipal rate of approximately $5 per 1,000 gallons of combined water and sewer; actual costs vary by local utility rate, and a hot-water drip also wastes the energy used to heat it.

The utility cost is modest; the real financial risk is secondary damage. A slow leak at the base or under the sink can ruin a cabinet floor, warp a countertop, or feed mold long before the water bill moves.

Identify Your Faucet Type First

Every household faucet uses one of four internal mechanisms, and the repair parts and steps are different for each. Identify yours before you buy anything.

A quick outside test: two handles that take multiple turns to shut off mean compression. A single lever rocking on a dome cap means ball. A wide cylindrical base under a single lever means ceramic disk. Everything else, single or double handle, is very likely a cartridge faucet.

Tools & Replacement Parts You'll Need

Gather everything before you shut off the water. The only faucet-specific items are the replacement parts themselves; the fastest way to get the right ones is to take the old part to the store and match it.

How to Fix a Leaky Faucet, Step by Step

Every repair starts with the same three steps, regardless of faucet type:

1. Shut off the water supply. Turn both shutoff valves under the sink clockwise until they stop. If they are seized or missing, close the home's main shutoff instead. Then open the faucet to drain the lines and release pressure.
2. Plug the drain and protect the sink. A rag over the drain keeps screws from disappearing into the trap; a folded towel in the basin catches dropped tools.
3. Remove the handle. Pry off the decorative cap and back out the handle screw, or loosen the set screw with an Allen key on lever handles. Lift the handle straight off and lay every part out in the order you removed it.

From here, the repair depends on your faucet type.

Compression Faucet Repair

Not sure which side is dripping? Catch a drop on your finger: warm water means the hot side, cool means the cold side.

1. Unscrew the packing nut with an adjustable wrench, then unthread the valve stem and lift it out of the faucet body.
2. Remove the screw at the bottom of the stem and pop off the rubber washer. A flattened, cracked, or grooved washer is your leak.
3. Shine a light into the valve body and run a fingertip over the valve seat. If it feels rough, smooth it with a seat-dressing tool or swap it out with a seat wrench.
4. Fit a new matching washer, coat the stem threads and O-ring with plumber's grease, and reassemble the stem, packing nut, and handle in reverse order. If the leak was at the handle rather than the spout, wrap the packing nut threads with a few turns of Teflon tape or replace the nylon packing washer instead of the main stem washer.

Ball Faucet Repair

Ball faucets contain the most small parts, so buy a complete repair kit (springs, rubber seats, cam, and O-rings) rather than hunting for individual pieces.

1. Loosen the adjusting ring, unscrew the domed cap, and lift out the plastic cam, cam washer, and rotating ball.
2. Reach into the valve body with a small screwdriver and lift out the two rubber seats and the springs beneath them.
3. Drop in the new springs and seats, then set the ball back into its slot so its pin aligns with the body notch.
4. Reassemble the cam, cap, and handle. Tighten the adjusting ring just enough that no water weeps around the stem when the faucet runs; more than that stiffens the handle.

Cartridge Faucet Repair

Cartridges are not interchangeable between brands, so match the manufacturer and model exactly.

1. Pull the retaining clip free with needle-nose pliers, or unscrew the retaining nut, whichever your faucet uses.
2. Grip the cartridge stem with pliers and pull it straight up, noting its orientation first. If it is stuck fast, an inexpensive cartridge puller saves both the cartridge housing and your knuckles.
3. Take the old cartridge to the store to match it, or order by faucet model number. Coat the new O-rings with plumber's grease.
4. Seat the new cartridge in the same orientation, refit the clip or nut, and reattach the handle. If hot and cold end up reversed, rotate the cartridge 180 degrees.

Ceramic-Disk Faucet Repair

Ceramic disks rarely fail; worn rubber seals and trapped grit cause most of these leaks.

1. Remove the escutcheon cap beneath the handle, then back out the mounting screws holding the disk cylinder.
2. Lift out the cylinder and pry the rubber seals from the ports on its underside with a small flathead.
3. Soak the cylinder openings in white vinegar and scrub gently with a soft pad to clear mineral buildup, then rinse.
4. Press in new seals, reseat the cylinder, and reassemble. When you restore water, open the valves slowly with the faucet handle open: a sudden pressure surge can crack a ceramic disk.

Final step for every type: restore water and test. Remove the aerator before this first flush so loose debris clears the line instead of clogging the screen, then open the shutoff valves slowly and run both hot and cold water for a full minute. Check the spout tip with the faucet off, check the handle and base while it runs, and feel the supply connections under the sink one more time before reinstalling the aerator and calling it done.

Repair or Replace? A Decision Framework

Most leaks are worth repairing. The failed component is usually an inexpensive universal part, typically in the $5 to $15 range at any hardware store, and a repair keeps a good faucet in service. The exceptions are when the faucet around the part is the real problem.

Repair when: the fix is a washer, O-ring, seal kit, or cartridge, and the faucet body, threads, and finish are otherwise sound.

Replace when: the valve seat is corroded beyond what a seat-dressing tool can clean up; the finish is pitting, flaking, or worn through; the same leak returns shortly after a correct part replacement, which points to a worn valve body; or the faucet is old or discontinued and matching parts are no longer available.

If you land on replacement, choose a model with a modern, easily serviceable cartridge so the next fix is a five-minute swap instead of a scavenger hunt. Our indoor kitchen and bathroom faucets are built around cartridge and ceramic-disk mechanisms; the Wasser Kitchen Faucet is a good example of a kitchen workhorse designed with a replaceable cartridge.

Protect the Finish While You Work

Faucet finishes are thinner than they look. Wrap plier and wrench jaws in a cloth or a few turns of masking tape before gripping any visible part, and never clamp bare metal directly onto a plated, PVD, or brushed surface; a single jaw mark is permanent, especially on premium gold-tone and matte black fixtures. Avoid overtightening during reassembly, too: excess torque cracks ceramic disks, crushes fresh washers, and strips soft brass threads. Snug plus a small fraction of a turn is enough.

Prevent Future Leaks

• Clean the aerator periodically. Unscrew the tip of the spout every few months, rinse out grit, and soak the screen in vinegar to dissolve scale. Debris in the aerator raises back-pressure on the valve.
• Close handles gently. Cranking a faucet shut grinds the washer or seal into the seat and shortens its life dramatically.
• Tame high water pressure. If your home consistently tests above 80 psi, have a pressure regulator installed; every fixture in the house will last longer.
• Take a stiff handle seriously. A faucet that has become hard to turn is showing early cartridge wear. Replacing the cartridge then is easier than waiting for the drip.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Forcing a stuck part instead of applying penetrating oil and giving it ten minutes to work.
• Skipping the drain plug, then watching a handle screw vanish into the trap.
• Buying a "close enough" replacement part instead of matching the old one exactly.
• Overtightening during reassembly, which damages the very seals you just replaced.
• Letting bare tool jaws touch a decorative finish.
• Restoring water at full pressure and walking away without checking every joint for drips.

A dripping faucet is one of the most fixable problems in a home: one afternoon, a few hand tools, and the right small part. Diagnose the leak location first, match the part exactly, and be gentle with the finish, and your faucet should run dry for years.