How do you maintain a faucet?
Updated August 2026
Faucet care is small: a clean or new aerator every 6 to 12 months, a fresh cartridge or washer set at the first steady drip, and a yearly look at the supply lines and shutoffs underneath. A cartridge costs $10 to $40 and a faucet lasts 15 to 20 years, so this is the cheapest fixture in the house to keep right. The catch is that a drip you shrug off runs day and night, wasting gallons and staining the sink while it works.
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Unscrew and soak the aerator in vinegar to clear grit | 6–12 months | 15 min · DIY |
| Wipe mineral buildup off the spray head and finish | 6–12 months | 5 min · DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Replace the cartridge, O-rings, or washers | As needed | $10–40 part |
| Reseat or replace the aerator if flow is weak | As needed | $5–15 part |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Check supply lines and shutoffs for corrosion or damp | Yearly | 10 min · DIY |
| Exercise the under-sink shutoff so it does not seize | Yearly | 2 min · DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Plan to replace the faucet when parts stop sealing | 15–20 years | $100–400 unit |
What neglect costs
A faucet that drips once a second wastes on the order of a couple thousand gallons a year, enough to show on the bill and to etch a rust or lime stain into the basin. Left alone, the same worn seal that drips at the spout can weep at a connection, and a slow leak at a corroded supply line swells the cabinet floor beneath it. Ignoring the drip also risks the valve seat itself, turning a $10 cartridge into a whole-faucet job. The fix is almost always a small part and 20 minutes.
Leave these to a pro
Nearly all faucet work is DIY with an adjustable wrench and a basin wrench, but two situations justify a plumber. Swapping the faucet itself in a cramped cabinet with corroded, soldered, or seized supply lines is fiddly, and a plumber does it for roughly $150 to $300 in labor on top of the fixture. A shutoff valve that will not close, or one that leaks once you touch it, is the other; replacing an old valve is cheap for a pro and saves flooding the vanity. Otherwise, keep the cartridge and aerator jobs in-house.
This whole checklist ships as reminders in OnOtto: every task above, on the right schedule for your home, snooze-proof.
Load this checklist as remindersFrequently asked questions
How do you fix a dripping faucet?
First identify the type: cartridge, ball, ceramic-disc, or compression, since each takes a different repair kit. Shut off the water under the sink, plug the drain, take the handle and bonnet apart, and replace the cartridge, O-rings, or washers that have worn. Reassemble and test. Most drips are a $10 to $40 part and half an hour. If it still drips from the base afterward, the valve seat itself may be pitted, which points toward a deeper fix.
How do you clean a faucet aerator?
Unscrew the aerator from the spout tip by hand or with tape-wrapped pliers, then take apart the screen and washer stack, keeping track of the order. Soak the parts in white vinegar for an hour to dissolve the mineral scale, brush off the debris, rinse, and reassemble. Do this every 6 to 12 months, more often on hard water. Follow the aerator cleaning schedule and low flow at that tap usually clears right up.
Why is water pressure low at just one faucet?
When only one faucet is weak while the rest of the house is fine, the aerator is the first suspect: sediment and lime clog its tiny screen and choke the flow. Unscrew and clean it, and flow often returns immediately. If that does not do it, the shutoff valve under the sink may be partly closed, or the cartridge may be clogged or failing. Whole-house low pressure is a different problem tied to the main or a pressure valve.