• leaky faucet

The faucet handle is connected to a small plastic piece called the faucet cartridge. The cartridge has two small holes that line up with the hot and cold water lines. When you turn the faucet handle off, you're spinning the cartridge openings away from the water lines, which blocks the flow of water completely. When you turn the handle on, the holes line up with the hot and cold water lines to varying degrees, allowing you to control the temperature of the water. If anything breaks the seal on the cartridge, such as a torn O-ring or debris in the lines, it may break that perfect seal and cause your faucet to drip.

• leaky faucet

When you turn the faucet handles to the off position, the faucet stem pushes a washer against the seat, which closes off the flow of water. If that washer gets compressed or starts to disintegrate, the seal between the seat and the washer won't be watertight. The seat itself can also get clogged or worn down, which will in turn damage the washer. Once the seal is broken, it won't be able to stop the flow of water anymore and your faucet will start to drip. When you replace one, it's best to replace both to avoid further issues.

• leaky faucet

An O-ring is a small, thin circle made of a rubber compound and other materials. In a faucet, they are used between two or more moving parts to seal the water in. As long as the O-ring has lubrication everything will work smoothly. However, once the lubrication wears off, the handle might be a little harder to move or the spout won't move from side to side as well as it used to. If an O-ring starts to wear it can also develop flat spots or cracks and the faucet will starts to leak.

• leaky faucet

Like most things in today's world, faucets have gotten more complex over time and now contain many different parts. The cartridges in modern faucets have many parts inside which control the flow of water and are fairly easy to change with a few basic tools. If you have an older faucet or a very basic style faucet then there are two primary pieces: the seat and the washer. The seat is often brass and the washer is rubber. These two parts separate to open and let water flow through, then come together again to shut the water off. When one or both parts get scored, cracked, scratched, dented or damaged in any way, the faucet starts to leak.