A dripping faucet can be annoying in the kitchen. It distracts your concentration from cooking work and also adds big bucks to the water bill. A dripping kitchen touch-on faucet wastes lots of water till you don’t fix it.
A general kitchen faucet has more than 15 years of life. But it is an appliance and like others, it also faces some little issues in its entire lifespan like leakage, water drips, etc. A dripping faucet is a common issue.
If you know why is touch faucet dripping, you can fix it easily. As soon as you find out the touch the kitchen leakage reason, start repairing it immediately. Water leaks can cause corrosion on the sink. So, by fixing the dripping issue you can save money and water. Follow our DIY solutions from this guide to fix leakage in the touch faucet.
Why Is Touch Faucet Dripping?
1. Faulty Sensors
A Delta touch faucet, Moen touch kitchen faucet, or any other touch-on faucet, all work due to sensors. Sensors get powered by a battery pack. The battery usually works for 2 years. When the battery pack is about to die or low battery, sensors don’t work properly. The improper signal from sensors causes a drip in the touch kitchen sink faucet.
2. Broken Washers
If you have a washer in the faucet, probably it is worn out. The washer is used to stop the flow of water.
Nowadays most kitchen faucets come with cartridges, so if you have an old faucet, maybe you have a washer in the faucet.
A washer may wear out due to friction and when it happens, you will see dripping water drops from the faucet spout. How hard you turn to tight handle, if the washer is worn out, water will leak. Washer replacement is the only solution to it.
3. Damaged O-ring
The O-ring is located on the handle of the faucet. It is a small disc that is rounded in the shape and attached to the stem screw of the handle.
O-ring stop or start the water flow, when you turn the handle. It is made of plastic so with time it gets corroded or worn out.
If you see water dripping from the faucet handle, it is a high chance the O-ring is damaged.
4. Damaged Cartridge
The modern faucet comes with a cartridge in the handle. When you turn the handle, the cartridge control hot and cold water flow.
Like washers, the cartridge also wears out with time. When the handle is in the off position, the cartridge stops the water flow. The cartridge is made of plastic so its life is not as long as the faucet’s life.
5. Improper Water Pressure
Water pressure also causes dripping issues in the touch-activate faucet. This is not a common issue so occurs only in a limited house.
How would you find that you have a water pressure issue?
Check, if water is dripping continuously or only at certain times of the day. If there is a water pressure issue, it won’t drip the whole day.
6. Deteriorated Valve
If all these aren’t reasons for dripping faucets then deteriorated valve is. A valve seat is placed at the base of the faucet and connected to the spout.
If water drips from the spout of the faucet, it is definitely from the deteriorated valve.
A valve seat may get damaged due to corrosion or hard water mineral deposits. Many homeowners don’t check valve seats and replace their dripping faucets.
How To Fix a Dripping Washer less Touch Faucet?
A washerless kitchen faucet contains a cartridge to control water flow. Dripping issues are not high in washer-less faucets as compared to washer faucets.
Step 1 – Turn Water off
An essential step for any plumbing work. Turn the water supply off to the touch sink faucet. Go to under the sink and turn the shut-off valve into the off position.
Step 2 – Remove Handle Cap
Nowadays, the screw is not visible directly on the handle, it is covered by the cap. To gain access to the internal part of the handle, first, you have to remove the handle.
Cover the drain so the cap or other small parts won’t slip into the drain.
A flathead screwdriver is a safe tool to remove the cap. Gently lift the cap with the help of a screwdriver and the screw under the cap will be exposed.
Step 3 – Remove Handle Screw
Now pick the right screwdriver to remove the handle screw. Use a screwdriver to loosen the screw and remove it.
When the screw is removed, the handle can be lifted out easily. But sometimes due to corrosion screw won’t move so use penetration oil to loosen the screw.
Step 4 – Remove The Cartridge and O-rings
After removing the handle, the cartridge is visible. The cartridge is fixed with a retaining clip. This clip is a circular threaded piece. You need to remove this threaded piece to remove the cartridge.
Use needle nose pliers that will remove the cartridge without damaging it.
Now, O-rings are exposed to you. Lift the O-rings and pull them out with a needle-nose plier.
Step 5 – Replace The Damaged Part
Check the condition of the cartridge and O-rings. Maybe both are damaged or any of them. You should replace the damaged part.
Replacing the damaged part by fixing the drip of the faucet. Before fitting new O-rings, coat them with plumber grease to prevent corrosion. The same do for cartridges.
Step 6 – Reattach The Faucet Parts
Now it’s time to reattach the kitchen faucet parts. Check O-rings and cartridges are fitted well. Attach all parts in the order that they were removed.
Attach the handle and tighten its screw with a screwdriver. Cover the handle with the cap.
Once all parts are connected properly, it’s time to turn on the water and check the drip situation. Check both hot and cold water flow.
Check also – Touch vs Touchless Kitchen Faucet
How To Fix a Dripping Washer Touch Faucet?
- If there is a decorative cap on the handle, first, remove it. Use a flathead screwdriver to lift it up.
- Check the screw on the handle and use the appropriate screwdriver to loosen it. If there is a hex screw, use a hex wrench to unscrew it.
- If there is corrosion on the screw spray penetration oil on it and wait for a few minutes and then try to unscrew it.
- Now handle can be lifted up easily.
- Check if there is a stem that is fixed by the stem nut. The stem nut holds the stem in its place. Here wrench comes in handy to remove it. Do it carefully and gently so no other parts would be damaged.
- The stem is free after removing the stem nut. Pull it out to expose the O-ring and washer.
- O-ring keeps the faucet leak-free. If it wears out, water leaks from the handle. O-ring is not an expensive product.
- The washer is placed at the bottom of the stem. When you turn the handle, the washer gets compressed and closes the water flow. Due to regular compression, it wears out with time and becomes the cause of the leakage in the touch faucet.
- Replace the old washer and stem with new ones. Apply plumber grease on it so they work friction-free and their life increases.
- So, you have placed the washer and stem at their places and fit them properly. Now attach the handle to the faucet.
- Check handle is moving easily or not. If not, the washer and stem are not placed correctly.
- Turn the water on for the faucet and check its flow and drip. If you have done repairing correctly there would be no problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Fix a Dripping Delta Touch Faucet?
Delta has some promising new faucets but what to do when water drips from them? Sometimes, this issue occurs due to a low battery problem. Under the sink, there is a battery box. Open the battery box and remove all batteries from it and insert new batteries. Due to low battery, sensors don’t get proper power to detect hand movement and cause drips.
Do Touchless Faucet Leaks?
Yes, like touch faucets, touchless faucets also leak. The reasons for touchless faucets leaking are the same as touch faucets, so the same solution, you can use to stop its leak.
Is a Dripping Touch Faucet Risky?
If you don’t repair the drip as soon as possible, the drip will cause corrosion and mold in the sink. Mold is not good for children and can make them ill.
Is It Necessary To Turn off Water To Fix a Drip?
If you are ready to turn your kitchen into a swimming pool, you can fix its leak without turning the water off. To fix the drip, you need to remove the handle. If you remove the handle without turning off the water, water continuously flows out from the handle so you can’t fix it leak and turn the kitchen into a water lake. So, it is necessary to turn off the water to fix the leak.