How To Fix A Leaky Bathtub Faucet [Complete Guide]

Wondering how much $cash is draining every day through a leaky bathtub faucet? Here is the shocking information.

5 gallons of water a day, 3000 gallons a year! All of these are equal to 180 showers! Oh my god! It’s huge! 

You could fill up a pool with this amount of water. Or this is good enough to run your whole month. In research, the expert found an average person needs 3000 gallons of water per month.

See! You could save a person’s water bill! Unfortunately, you are out of that league. Bathtub faucets do not allow you to do that.  

How To Fix A Leaky Bathtub Faucet
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Time to stop that wastage and save some extra $. Read out how to fix a leaky bathtub faucet. We will cover one proven method; you can use it to fix single, double, and triple handle faucets. 

See also related post:

5 Reasons For Leaky Bathroom Faucet:

Just give us 2 minutes. We are about to explain 5 common reasons for leaky bathtub faucets.

Water Pressure:

It happens for a certain time; you will notice the water dripping or the handle is moving for the water pressure. This means the water pressure is too high for the faucet. 

Broken Washers:

The Washer stays inside the valve seat. Each time you tweak the handle, the Washer produces friction. Over time it starts to decay. 

A major signal of an expired washer is a leaky faucet. Sometimes this can occur for not settling up the Washer. Re-adjust the Washer first. If the leakage persists, change it.  

Cartridge damage

The double handle faucet has this cartridge. The role of this device is to control the water flow: hot and cold. Damage to this cartridge can cause leaky faucets. Installing a new cartridge is the best way to avoid water dripping.

O-ring Malfunction:

O-ring holds the faucet handle. It is attached with the stem screw. Same as the Washer. So, friction can wear it out over time. As a result, the water dripping starts. Changing a new one can solve the problem.

Valve seat damage:

You can witness this when the spout is dripping water. It means the valve seat has been damaged. 

Mineral build-up or corrosion can cause this problem. In some cases, the washer adjustment causes the damage. So, it is wise to check the reasons first. Then fix the leakage.

How to fix a leaky bathtub faucet double handle: 12 Proven Process

Now you know the common reasons. It will help you to fix the leakage faster. Below we are mentioning one single method that works for every type of faucet handle. 

1. Tool:

Gather these following tools first:

  • Monkey wrench
  • Jar gripper
  • Teflon tape
  • Plumber grease
  • Bath socket wrench
  • Flat-head screwdriver
  • Philips screwdriver.
  • Hand dryer
  • Small container
  • Seat wrench

2. Turn off the water switch:

Repairing starts with shutting off the total water supply. Turn off the main water gate that supplies all over the house.

3. Drain remaining water:

Open the cold and hot water valves to drain up the water. It will save you from splashing water over your clothes.

4. Unscrew the handle:  

Use the Philip screwdriver to unscrew the handles. Then twist it counterclockwise to remove the water. Over time the handle may corrode. So it gets tightened. A hand dryer can help you to lose the handle.  

5. Remove the collar and trimmer:

Done? Now remove the trimmer and collar. Trimmer is just behind the handle. It can be tightened like the handle. Use the dryer to loosen it up. After removing the trimmer, there will be a collar inside it. Remove it as well.

6. Use the small container:

Put all the screws and materials in a small container. A small container helps you to avoid the risk of losing tiny things. 

7. Take away the stem bonnet:

This is also called a cartridge. In this material, there is a packing nut. It holds the total handle construction. You can remove this stem bonnet using a bath socket wrench. 

8. Remove the valve seat:

Take a seat wrench. It looks like “L-Shape.” Move it counterclockwise. Then it will come up through the seat wrench. Since it stays deep inside the pipe, you need this specialized wrench.    

9. Find out the fault:

All your essentials are now in the container. Find out the problems. Check our 5 common reasons once again. If you find any of them, try to fix them by replacing the parts. 

10. Replace the part:

It is wise to change the total setup. This will save you from further repair. We covered some common replacing tips below:

  • Stem bonnet: start the replacement process with it. We recommend you replace the total. Replacing a slight portion like a washer or bonnet portion may lead to repeat the process.
  • Seat washer: remove the seat washer from the seat valve. Use the seat wrench to unscrew the Washer. Then peel off the rubber (seat washer). Replace it with a new one. Use plumber grease while replacing the Washer.
  • Bonnet washer: apply the same process for removing the bonnet washer. Don’t forget to use grease on it. 
  • Packing nuts: you will see this in the middle of the stem. Unscrew it with a flat-head screwdriver. Bring it out with your hand. Grease the new packing nuts
  • Packing washer: place the packing washer inside the new packing nut. Use the screwdriver for it. Fix it. Done!
  • Bonnet construction: use some pipe joints to the bonnet threads, and wrap it up with Teflon tape. Tighten it up with the wrench.

11. Joint the Parts:

Your work is done. Time to attach all the components as you did at first. Use the monkey wrench to tighten up the handles. Done! 

12. Open the watergate: 

Open up the main watergate. Check for the water drip. By this time, the faucet will not leak any water. 

I appreciate your patience! You learned the one golden method that you can apply to fix all types of faucet leakage. Now let us answer some of your common queries.

How to fix a leaky bathtub faucet single handle delta?

Delta single-handle faucets are easy to fix. Just follow our method. You can! Only use these specialized tools for delta.

  • Delta seats and spring:
  • Channel locks
  • Needle-nose plier
  • Allen wrench. 

How to fix the leaking bathtub faucet single-handle Moen? 

Moen has no special instructions to fix their bathtub faucets. You can apply our method to fix the leakage. One thing you should remember: avoid pressurizing the friction gasket. Or else you have to replace the total faucet. These are sensitive. 

Good or Bad – delta shower faucet repairing kit single handle?

Delta repair kits are good for their product. We don’t recommend using that for other brands. It does not work for them properly. The best thing about that kit is, you can use it for double or triple handle faucets.

How to fix a leaky tub faucet single handle?

Fixing a leaky single-handle faucet is more accessible than a double handle. You don’t need to think about the cartridge here. Just disassemble the parts like we instructed over. Then follow the way we mentioned. 

How to fix a leaky delta bathtub faucet double-handle?

We prefer you to focus on the water valves. Open the valves after shutting down the main switch gate. This will help you to follow our method with flexibility. 

How to fix a leaky bathtub faucet’s triple handle? 

Triple handle bathtub faucet fixing is the same as the double handle. Here it would help if you worked on the sprout channel. That’s it. 

One Method For All:

While we were constructing the article, our team fetched a ton of questions. Every query was indicating a method. We explored 100+ expert processes. 

Finally found that: single double, triple faucet repair is the same. There are no extra methods. So based on the method, we structured one single process that can help you to fix all types of faucet leakage. 

Share this how to fix a leaky bathroom faucet single, double triple with your friend. 

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