A leaking outdoor faucet can quickly drive up the water bill for your Cincinnati home. Leaking outdoor faucets can also cause serious damage in the winter if your pipes freeze. Luckily, outdoor faucet leaks are usually relatively easy to fix.  In this post, we’re going to cover two of the most common causes of outdoor faucets leaks.  Most outdoor faucet leaks occur either in the spout or the handle.

*If you have a froust-proof faucet stay tuned for a future blog post. Today we are covering standard outdoor faucets

This DIY repair can generally be completed in 10 minutes or less. You may need:

• Wrench
• 1x Washer
• 1x Screw

Repairing a leaking outdoor faucet in your Cincinnati Home

1. Begin by observing your leak to determine if the leak is coming from the spout or the handle – If the leak is coming from the the handle you may be in luck in that all you’ll need to do to repair the leak is to tighten the faucets packing nut with a wrench. If that doesn’t work or if your leak is coming from the spout continue reading.
2. Turn off the water supply to your home. The main water valve shutoff may be located in your basement, crawlspace, or water heater closet.
3. Turn on the faucet to drain any water remaining in the pipes
4. Remove the handle by unscrewing the screw that holds it in place
5. Behind the handle, there is a packing nut – use a wrench to unscrew the packing nut allowing you to slide the valve assembly out.
6. Your Cincinnati home’s outdoor faucets likely have two washers. One behind the packing nut, and one at the base of the valve. While your faucet is disassembled it’s best to go ahead and replace both. To replace the washer behind the packing nut simply loosen the nut and slide in a new washer. Make sure you are using an identical washer to replace the old leaking one.
7. To replace the washer at the base of the valve stem. Unscrew the screw that it is holding it in place, and simply replace the washer. Again taking care to use an identical washer. It can be a good idea to go ahead and replace the screw holding the washer in place, as it is likely worn and rusted.
8. Next slide the valve assembly back into the faucet and screw it back into place.
9. Carefully tighten the valve assembly back into place. Be careful not to over tighten the assembly.
10. Screw the handle back on, and turn your home’s water supply back on.

That’s it! You’re leak should be fixed! You’ll save money on your water bill, and won’t even need to call a repair man. Check out the video below from Alliance For Water Efficiency for a visual guide on completing this repair.