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Took me 8 hours to fix a leaky kitchen faucet that needed a $3 rubber washer the whole time

I replaced the entire cartridge, watched three different YouTube videos, and made two trips to the hardware store before my neighbor pointed out the old washer was just flattened from 6 years of use, has anyone else had a simple fix turn into a full day project?
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3 Comments
karenb97
karenb971mo ago
Read an article saying half of simple plumbing jobs end up turning into all day projects just like this.
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the_piper
the_piper1mo ago
Heard a plumber on a podcast say the same thing, basically that every "quick fix" has a hidden surprise waiting behind the wall. It's like they design houses to make you spend all day on one leaky pipe. @karenb97 That article nailed it - I bet that number is even higher for older homes.
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reese_hayes71
Oh man, I felt this in my bones. "The old washer was just flattened" - that's the universal sign that you are about to lose your whole Saturday. It's always the smallest thing that gets you. @the_piper is totally right that every "quick fix" hides a surprise because you end up second guessing everything you know about plumbing. My rule now is take a photo of the inside of the faucet before you take anything apart. That saved me last year when I had a similar sink faucet adventure. The second trip to the store is almost always for a tool you already own but forgot you had.
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