Replace rather than repair when the faucet body is cracked or corroded, when parts are no longer available, when repairs have not held, when the valve seat is pitted beyond resurfacing, or when the fixture is old enough that a new one costs less than the labor to keep fixing it.

Signs It Should Be Replaced

  • Cracks or corrosion in the body. No repair for a compromised faucet body — it will keep leaking and eventually fail outright.
  • Parts no longer available. Discontinued or obscure faucets often cannot be rebuilt, and universal parts rarely seal properly.
  • Repeat repairs. If you have replaced the cartridge twice and it still drips, something upstream of the cartridge — usually a pitted valve seat — is the actual problem.
  • Pitted valve seat. Hard water erodes the surface the washer seals against. Once it is pitted, a new washer will not seal, and resurfacing only works so many times.
  • Heavy mineral buildup internally that restricts flow and cannot be fully cleared.
  • Loose or wobbling at the base with corroded mounting hardware.
  • Repair cost approaching replacement cost. On an inexpensive builder-grade faucet, the labor to rebuild it frequently exceeds the price of a better new one.

Signs It Is Worth Repairing

A quality faucet with an available cartridge or washer kit, an intact body, and a first-time failure. Good faucets are genuinely rebuildable, and a cartridge swap on a well-made fixture is a sensible repair at almost any age.

Why Albuquerque Faucets Reach This Point Sooner

Hard water. Mineral scale pits valve seats, abrades seals, restricts internal passages, and cements mounting hardware in place. The same faucet that lasts twenty years elsewhere may need attention here in ten. A water softener meaningfully extends fixture life throughout the house.

Check the Pressure Too

If several faucets are failing, excess water pressure may be the underlying cause — a pressure reducing valve protects everything downstream.

When You Do Replace

Have the angle stops and supply lines replaced at the same time. Contact B. Carlson about fixtures in Albuquerque.