Faucet leaks?

Question

I am no plummer and never have done any real repair of plumming. I have a bathtub faucet that leaks. The manufacture if the faucet is a kohler. It's an older faucet. It has the right and left turn spikets on each side ( Hot and Cold) I am told that the cartridges may bad. Dose this system have cartridges. Could this be a washer problem?. If you help can you send help in real laymen's term as I am all thumbs.

Please help

Answer 1

First locate you water shutoffs .Look first under the sink.Then obviously shut it off. Pop the decrative screwcover off.remove the handle and viola ,You have what is called a faucet stem. that will detatch in various ways all similar but non exactly the same. Basically remove the nut holding the stem in place . Now slip the handle back on and scew out the stem if necessary. you'll want to replace all o-rings and washers .If you have problems go t your Hardware store w/stem they'll be glad to hook you up w/what you need . reverse for assembly

Answer 2

Depends on the age of the fixture whether it is a washer or cartridge type. Either way, contrary to what the 1st person says, you CAN do this yourself. However, you risk having a bigger problem. It is likely there is no secondary shutoff which isolates the tub fixtures as there is for a toilet tank or bathroom sink (lack of a backup valve for a tub is a defect in my opinion). So, this is where the potential bigger problem comes in, you have to shut off water to the whole house to do the work on a bathtub and if for some reason you can not complete the repair, you are stuck without water until you DO. Now that you are aware of the risk, with either type, you need to do some research first. Go to your local hardware store where they sell similar fixtures. Find out at the store how to disassemble the faucet. This will tell you if it is cartridge or washer, so you can buy the appropriate parts. You may be able to tell by inspection. If the faucet has a rising stem, it is likely a washer. If the stem does not rise as you turn it, it is likely a cardtridge. The key information you really need is the direction of the threads which hold the parts together. Some are left handed and turn clockwise to loosen while others are right handed and turn counterclockwise to loosen. You have to know which is which or you will cause great amounts of damage only a professional can repair.Once you are sure which thread type the faucet is, turn off the water supply. Open the valve partway. Remove the faucet handle. Loosen and remove the holddown nut which will expose the internals. Now all you have to do is pull out or unscrew the internals, replace the appropriate part and reassemble. Remember to have the valve part way open when tightening the holddown nut or you may damage the internals when the nut clamps down on the guts. Big box places like Ace Hardware, Lowe's and Home Depot have people on hand who can teach you exactly how to do this kind of simple repair. Just go to one of them and ask around.

Answer 3

Don't attempt this repair yourself. If done improperly, your wife might call you a "drip"!!