Fixing a Leak

We’ve been having a problem with our kitchen sink, and I tried to ignore it for as long as possible, but in the past couple of days, it worsened to the point that I had to take action. This was compounded by the fact that JH and his magic bag of tools was not there because he has his own life to lead.

Initially, the leak was small and manageable, maybe a drip every 10 seconds or so. This could be fixed by tweaking the handle back and forth until the dripping stopped. This solution was good enough for me.

Just the other day, however, the drip got worse, and turned into a steady stream that was hard to eliminate. Sometimes it required a little brute force, which is never a good thing.

Summing up all my manly courage, which was enough to fill a thimble, I broke out my tool kit (was I ever glad I had all those hex-wrenches), yanked my pants low enough to expose part of butt-crack, and went to work. The first order of business was to do a Google search on how to repair leaks on that type of faucet. Since it’s a reputable brand name (Delta), the information was readily available.

I, of course, didn’t realize how easy it was to disassemble the housing, and once you get inside and see what’s going on, things become much clearer. I will say this, there was a lot of thought that went into making this thing work. It’s brilliant, really, and a shame that they make life so easy for the average Joe like myself, because we take way too many things for granted that are deserving of our respect and attention.

In turns out that the problem was that the bolt that holds the gasket down was loose, and all it required was tightening it so that the water couldn’t slip past. Amazing. Now we have no more leaks, the sink works beautifully, I got to seem like the Marlboro Man to my family, and I had something to make my Mentor and JH and his magic bag of tools proud.

In other words, it’s Miller Time, and life is good.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.