How to Fix a Leaky Faucet Drip in 20 Minutes
That dripping faucet wastes 3,000+ gallons a year. Here's the step-by-step fix for compression, cartridge, ball, and ceramic disc faucets — no plumber needed.
A leaky faucet drip is the kind of household sound that gets louder every night. Drip. Drip. Drip. The good news: in almost every case, you can fix a leaky faucet drip yourself in about 20 minutes, with parts that cost under $10.
Below is a complete walkthrough for the four most common faucet types found in homes, plus the common mistakes that make people think the job is harder than it is. Get the right washer or cartridge for your faucet and the actual repair is straightforward.
What You’ll Need
- An adjustable wrench
- A Phillips and a flathead screwdriver
- Allen wrenches (a set is fine — most faucets use 1/8” or 3/32”)
- A pair of pliers (channel-lock or slip-joint)
- A clean rag
- Plumber’s grease (small tube, about $3)
- Replacement parts — these depend on your faucet type (more on that below)
If you don’t already own these basic hand tools, a starter set covers all of them and runs about $25.
Step 1: Identify Your Faucet Type
This is the part most guides skip and the part that causes most of the headaches. There are four common faucet types:
- Compression — has two separate handles (hot/cold) that you screw down to shut off. Most common in older homes. These have rubber washers that wear out.
- Cartridge — single handle that lifts up to turn on and rotates left/right for temperature. Has a removable plastic or metal cartridge inside.
- Ball — single handle that you push and rotate. Has a metal or plastic ball inside the housing.
- Ceramic disc — single lever, usually mounted high. Uses two ceramic discs that slide against each other. Very durable but expensive to repair.
If you’re not sure, just take off the handle (next step) and look. The internal mechanism tells you immediately.
Step 2: Turn Off the Water and Plug the Drain
There are two shut-off valves under the sink — one for hot, one for cold. Turn both clockwise until they stop. Then turn the faucet on at the sink to confirm the water is fully off and to drain residual pressure.
Plug the drain with a stopper or stuff a rag in it. The single fastest way to ruin a faucet repair is to drop a tiny screw down the drain.
Step 3: Take the Handle Off
Look for a small cap on top of the handle — it’s usually a decorative button labeled “H” or “C”, or just a flat plastic disc. Pry it off gently with a flathead screwdriver. Underneath is a screw.
- For compression faucets: a Phillips screw
- For most cartridge and ball faucets: an Allen screw
Unscrew it and pull the handle straight up. If it’s stuck (common on older faucets), wiggle it gently or tap the base lightly with the handle of your screwdriver. Don’t force it — you’ll snap something.
Step 4: Fix It (By Faucet Type)
Compression faucet
This is the easiest fix. With the handle off, you’ll see a stem. Use a wrench to unscrew the packing nut around the stem and lift the stem out.
At the bottom of the stem is a small rubber washer held in place by a brass screw. This is your leak. Unscrew the brass screw, pop off the old washer, take it to the store, and match it exactly. Drop the new washer in, reassemble in reverse, turn the water back on. Done.
If the leak is from around the handle rather than the spout, you need to replace the O-ring higher up on the stem. Same idea — slide off the old O-ring, replace with one the same size, apply a thin smear of plumber’s grease to it before sliding the stem back in.
Cartridge faucet
After removing the handle, you’ll see a retaining clip or nut holding the cartridge in place. Remove it with pliers, then pull the cartridge straight up. Cartridges sometimes stick — pull firmly and straight, not at an angle.
Take the cartridge to a hardware store and match it. Bring the faucet brand if you know it (Moen, Delta, Kohler, etc.) — most cartridges are brand-specific. Insert the new cartridge in the same orientation as the old one, reattach the clip, and reinstall the handle.
A new cartridge costs $10–25 and almost always solves the problem.
Ball faucet
Ball faucets have the most internal parts and a slightly more involved fix. Inside, you’ll find:
- A cam and washer on top
- The ball itself
- Two rubber seats and springs in the housing below
Pull these out one at a time and keep them in the order they came out — line them up on a paper towel. Most leaky ball faucets are fixed by replacing the seats and springs (a $5 kit specific to your faucet brand).
If the spout drips after you replace the seats and springs, replace the ball as well.
Ceramic disc faucet
Ceramic disc faucets rarely fail, but when they do, the fix is replacing the cartridge assembly (the entire disc unit). Unscrew the mounting screws below the handle, lift the assembly out, and replace it with a matching unit from the manufacturer.
Ceramic disc cartridges run $30–60 — pricier than other types, but they last 20+ years.
Step 5: Reassemble and Test
Reverse your disassembly. Hand-tighten everything first, then snug it up with a wrench — don’t crank. Apply plumber’s grease to any O-rings before reinstalling.
Turn the water back on slowly at the shut-off valves. Open the faucet to let air out, then close it and check for drips at the spout and around the handle. Run the water for a minute and check again.
If it still drips, the most common reason is that you grabbed the wrong replacement part. Recheck the part you replaced against the old one.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Replacing the wrong part. Most leaky faucet drips are washers, O-rings, or cartridges — not the whole faucet. Don’t let a hardware store associate talk you into a full replacement until you’ve tried the small fix.
Not turning the water off all the way. A “mostly off” shut-off valve will spray you in the face the moment you remove the cartridge. Turn it until it stops, then test by running the faucet.
Cranking down too hard on reassembly. Faucet parts are designed to seal with light pressure and the help of O-rings and washers. If you overtighten, you’ll deform the washer and cause a new leak — or strip the threads and need to replace the entire faucet body.
Dropping the small parts. Always plug the drain before you start. Always. The retaining clip on a cartridge is half the size of a dime and lives one mistake away from your sewer line.
Forgetting plumber’s grease. A dry O-ring will start leaking within months. A greased one will last for years. The tube costs $3 and lasts the life of the home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my faucet only drip at night? It probably drips all day too — you just notice it at night when the house is quiet. Some people see “phantom” night-only drips when household water pressure rises slightly at night because no one else is using it.
How much does a leaky faucet cost in water? A faucet that drips once per second wastes about 3,000 gallons a year — roughly $30 to $60 on your water bill, plus the wear on the faucet.
Should I replace the whole faucet? Only if the faucet itself is corroded, badly scratched, or more than 15 years old. Most leaks are washers and cartridges — $5 to $25 fixes. A new faucet is $80 and up plus installation labor.
Why won’t the handle come off? Mineral buildup is the usual culprit. Try wiggling it gently while pulling up. If it won’t budge, soak it with white vinegar on a rag for 15 minutes and try again. Don’t pry against the sink top — you’ll crack the porcelain or chip the granite.
Is the leak coming from the base instead of the spout? That’s almost always a worn O-ring under the spout, not a washer in the handle. Pull the spout straight up (handle removed first) and replace the O-rings on the inner body. Use plumber’s grease.
You Can Definitely Do This
Plumbers charge $150 to $300 for a faucet repair that takes you 20 minutes and $10 in parts. The hardest part is figuring out which type of faucet you have — and you can do that in five minutes with a screwdriver. Identify the type, match the part, and reverse what you took apart. That’s the whole job.