The Seeping Sinks

If I turn them off "just right" they don't drip... so that's ok, right?

That has been my mantra since we moved in. Two of our sinks have a tendency to drip or leak.

Here is the first offender: the master bathroom sink.
It is your standard single-knob Delta faucet. If you push it down (off), it will drip out of the spout unless you twist it all the way to the left ("hot") side. I explained this to the guy at the hardware store and he handed me something and said I needed to replace the "seats and springs."

Oookie dokie... I bought what he said, and headed home to Google it.

Turns out there are a couple of tiny springs and rubber bits that help keep everything aligned and sealed. If the rubber wears or the springs "stick," it won't seal and water will sneak through and drip out the faucet.
So a few YouTube instructional videos later (ok, LOTS): I had the sink taken apart, greased up, new parts put in, and everything reassembled.

Now there is no more dripping, but there was also a pleasant side effect: the plumbing grease made all the difference; the handle turns so much easier now!

With some plumbing confidence behind me, I assisted HandyE (our super handy friend) fix the kitchen sink.
It wasn't leaking out of the faucet, but out of the joint where the handle attaches to the fixture. It was a similar problem where the O-rings (sealing rubber bits) were worn and needed to be replaced.
It was a little trickier since the kitchen sink is a bit more complicated, but thanks to HandyE and all his tools he got it fixed.

Ok, since I was fixing all these faucets, I might as well tackle the guest-bath as well. While it doesn't leak or drip, the handle in the tub is VERY tough to turn. I was worried I would eventually break it off when giving Eva a bath! (You can see her helping in the picture, inspecting the parts.)















A few more new rubber sealing parts and some faucet grease, and it was as good as new. Amazing how less than $8 worth of bits and parts can prevent a broken handle, water spraying uncontrollably everywhere, and a very expensive plumber!

All it took was (a lot of) research online. Ok, and a pinch of bravery to take the leap into plumbing.
Ta-dah!