The Dripping Faucet and the Running Toilet: Small Leaks Worth Fixing Before Winter

A drip at the kitchen faucet or a toilet that hisses at 2 a.m. is easy to tune out. You get used to the sound, you stop noticing the stain around the drain, and the leak becomes part of the house. Fall is a good time to deal with them. Heating season keeps you indoors more, and a small problem is much easier to handle before a cold snap or a busy holiday week.

Here's how to tell what's going on, what the usual fixes look like, and where the line sits between a handyman job and a plumber's.

Why the drip happens

Inside a faucet, something has to stop the water when you shut the handle. In a compression faucet that's a rubber washer pressed against a seat. In most newer single-handle faucets it's a cartridge, a plastic or brass cylinder that slides or rotates to open and close the flow. Either way, the part wears out. Mineral buildup from hard water, where you have it, can speed that wear along.

A drip from the spout when the faucet is off almost always means a worn washer, cartridge or seat. A leak around the base of the handle or at the bottom of the spout usually means a worn O-ring. Water on the cabinet floor under the sink may be the faucet, but it can also be a supply line or a drain connection, so feel around with a dry paper towel before you decide.

The toilet that won't stop running

A running toilet has two usual suspects, and both sit inside the tank. Lift the lid and look.

• The flapper is the rubber seal at the bottom of the tank. If it's warped, cracked or coated in slime, it lets water creep into the bowl, and the tank keeps refilling to catch up.
• The fill valve is the tall assembly that lets fresh water in. If the water level is too high and runs into the overflow tube, the valve or its float needs adjusting or replacing.

A simple test helps. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and wait twenty minutes without flushing. If color shows up in the bowl, the flapper isn't sealing. Older homes in Central Ohio sometimes have original tank parts that are decades old, and swapping them out is usually quick.

A few things you can try first

Before you buy anything, shut off the water at the small valve under the faucet or toilet. It turns clockwise, and it's worth knowing where those valves are before you ever need them in a hurry. If a valve is stiff or crusty, don't force it. A valve that breaks off in your hand turns a small problem into a big one.

Take the old part with you to the hardware store, or snap a photo with the brand and model name if it's printed on the faucet. Faucet cartridges in particular come in many shapes that look nearly identical. Matching the brand matters more than matching the look.

When it stops being a small job

Some leaks are not in the part you can see. If you notice a damp smell, a soft spot on the cabinet floor, ceiling stains below a bathroom, or water that keeps coming back after you've replaced the obvious part, stop and look wider. The cause may be in a supply line, a shutoff valve, or a pipe inside the wall. Anything that involves cutting into a wall, replacing a main shutoff, or repairing a pipe that has already burst belongs with a plumber.

Pipes that sit in exterior walls, unheated crawlspaces or garages are the ones to watch when Ohio temperatures drop. Letting a faucet trickle on a very cold night is a common habit, but a faucet that already drips has told you something about its condition. Fix the part before the cold weather tests it.

What a handyman can take on

Replacing a faucet or a cartridge, swapping a flapper or a fill valve, putting in a new garbage disposal, and fixing a leak at a supply line are all routine small plumbing jobs. They don't need a whole day or a lot of mess, and doing several of them in one visit makes sense. If you have a drip, a running toilet and a slow sink drain, put them on the same list and get them done together.

Columbus Ohio TOP Handyman Services handles leaky faucets, running toilets, garbage disposals and other small plumbing jobs in Columbus and the surrounding suburbs. The estimate is free, and the work carries a one-year workmanship warranty. Call or text 380-283-9950 and tell us what you're hearing.