Kitchen Faucets Are Just As Likely To Leak As Bathroom Faucets

A broken faucet is not a common occurrence, but when it does happen it is a messy one. If you own your own home you have to expect these incidents from time to time. The key is not to panic when there is water spraying around the room, but to concentrate on finding out where the problem is and get it fixed. The solution to most indoor plumbing problems is a lot simpler than you expect. It helps to have a basic knowledge of the general plumbing issues that you might encounter and how to fix them, or even better, prevent them from occurring in the first place with a little faucet maintenance.

Your kitchen gets at least as much use as your bathroom and kitchen faucets can spring a leak just as easily as those in the bathroom. Often the leak is not spotted as quickly as some faucets are hidden with a kitchen cabinet. Fixing the leak is fairly simple. Firstly you need to turn off the water valve that leads to the kitchen sink. Remove the leaky section of pipe and hold it up to the light to check for cracks or holes. You will need to replace the part of the pipe that is damaged. Wrap the open end of the pipe in plumbers tape or Teflon tape, with four or five rounds. Put the pipe back together and hook up the faucet. Turn the water back on to check that there are no more leaks in the pipe.

Waking up to find you have a frozen water pipe may be annoying, but you will probably find trying to track down the offending pipe even more frustrating. Try all the different water systems in your house to determine how many pipes are actually frozen. Turn off the ones that are working but leave the valve open on the ones that are not producing water. Next you need to turn off the main water valve to the house. You can now try to thaw the pipes.

Check what kind of pipes you have under your house. They could be made from plastic, or from a metal alloy. You will need a hairdryer or heat gun to thaw out the pipes, but be careful with plastic pipes as it is possible to melt them with too much heat. Before crawling under your house to thaw the pipes, make sure you have a long enough extension cord, the thawing device, and a flashlight. You may need to repair a hole or split in the pipe, and that may be the cause of the ice plug. In this case you will need spare pipe and plumbers tape as well. Assuming there is no hole you can heat the pipe by running the hairdryer or heat gun over it in a swishing motion, for no more than five minutes. Turn the water main back on and make sure there aren?t any leaks that you haven?t spotted.

Of course it would be better to prevent the pipes from freezing in the first place and this can be achieved by surrounding them in a heated pipe space, or installing insulation around them. Wrapping the pipes with heat tape, which can be purchased at your local hardware store, can also do the trick.

Jerry Blackburn writes principally for http://www.kitchen-cabinets-tips.com , a web publication about countertops . You might see his work on kitchen faucets over at http://www.kitchen-cabinets-tips.com

Buying the Perfect Kitchen Faucets for Your Needs

An integral part of every modern kitchen, stylish and sleek kitchen faucets are available in a wide range of designs these days, and come at really affordable prices. With the wide choice of faucets available you can buy the perfect products to fit in with the look and theme of your kitchen, and this is ideal for those that want to enjoy consistency, style, and practicality. The right kitchen fixtures can make a real difference to the overall look of this room, and you can get everything from wall mount faucets to free standing ones, from pullout ones to filter ones, and from single handle ones to doubles. You can select from faucets made from brass, copper, chrome, and more, so finding the right one for your kitchen should prove no problem.

Find faucets to really complement your kitchen

In addition to enjoying a wide range of styles and designs, you can find the perfect color and material for your kitchen, and you can get faucets that complement all of your fixtures, such as sinks, kitchen cabinets, countertops, and d?cor. Plumbing these faucets in is easy these days, so you won?t even have to pay any extra in this respect. There are now many high quality manufacturers that provide high quality faucets in beautiful, sleek, and modern designs, and you can even enjoy antique appearance faucets that offer all the benefits of modern technology but the beauty and class of a bygone era. Whatever your taste or the style of your kitchen, you can find the ideal faucets for your needs from the impressive range on offer today.

Getting a great deal on your faucets

No matter what your budget you should have no problem finding the right faucets for your home, and these days you can benefit from a combination of great quality and fine workmanship as well as great value for money. The best place to find a fabulous choice of kitchen accessories as well as great deals on the cost of these faucets is online, as many reputable manufacturers and retailers offer excellent deals via the Internet. When you go online, you can compare the different faucets and features to ensure that you find the perfect ones for your needs. You can also enjoy far lower prices online, which means that you can get more for your money without having to compromise on the quality of your kitchen accessories.

Whatever style, color, or design of faucet you are looking for, and whatever features you want these faucets to display, the Internet is the ideal place to find the right ones for your kitchen with speed and ease. You can select from a range of top manufacturers, so you can rest assured that your faucets will be of excellent quality and will boast style and class. You will be surprised at just what a big difference the right sink faucet can make to the overall look of your kitchen, and you can improve the functionality and look of this room simply by replacing the faucets for ones that really complement your d?cor and fixtures.

The essayist Clinton Maxwell is particularly passionate about topics similar to kitchen cabinets and countertops. His articles on kitchen faucets can be discovered on http://www.kitchen-cabinets-tips.com/kitchen-faucets.html and other websites.

Dealing With The Leaking Bathtub Faucet

Drip, drip, drip. A leaky bathtub faucet is a common problem in many homes. If you have one, the good news is they are usually fairly simple to take care of.

The repair of leaky faucets is another often minor plumbing job that can be done by yourself with a minimum of effort and with no special tools. Although this may be true, it is an extremely important job. A single pinhole leak in a water pipe can waste up to 70 gallons of water per day. A badly leaking faucet can waste even more. This is a serious environmental issue today. There are some who claim that the very population levels of the world are depending on the supply of potable water. And we are already running behind.

There are two major types of faucets. The most common one in older homes is called the compression faucet. This faucet uses a rubber washer that is compressed when the valve is closed. The compressed washer expands and seals off the water flow. This process is hard on the washer and after a time they will wear out and need to be replaced.

When you go to replace the washer, you must first shut off the water supply to the faucet. Sometimes it is possible to do this at a more local spot close to the faucet, but other times it is necessary to shut off the main water supply to the home to isolate the faucet. It is a good idea to protect the enamel of the bathtub with towels to protect it from chips from dropped tools. Another good preparation idea is to cover drains to prevent small pieces from being dropped into them.

When you take apart the faucet to get to the washer, make diagrams or notes of exactly how you do so. This will make it easier to put it back together. Normally, the replacement of the washer will solve the leak problem. Keep spare washers handy in your tool box. You will need them again before long.

The newer type of faucet is called a washer less faucet. The name tells it all. The valve opens and shuts by an actual physical closing of the valve. You can usually tell if your faucet is compression or washer less just by feel. A compression faucet needs to be tightened to get it closed. The washer less faucet glides easily into place and does not need additional pressure to cut off the flow. There are fewer problems with leaking on washer less faucets. They tend to be either working or not. When they wear out, or do not operate properly, they should be replaced.

Fred Linson is with PlumbingStop.com - providing basic plumbing information and more resources.