Totally agree about biting the bullet early. I spent way too long messing around with vinegar and CLR trying to fix a bathroom faucet drip. Finally caved and swapped out the cartridge—night and day difference. If anyone's hesitant, it's honestly not that tricky: just shut off water, pop the handle off, remove retaining clip or nut (depends on faucet type), pull cartridge straight out, and slide the new one in. Saves you from constant band-aid fixes...and sanity loss, lol.
Yeah, swapping the cartridge is usually the way to go, but have you ever run into one that's completely seized up? Had a tenant once whose faucet cartridge was practically fused in place—no amount of pulling or twisting would budge it. Ended up having to carefully drill it out bit by bit...talk about sanity loss, haha. Usually it's straightforward, but sometimes faucets just decide to fight back. Anyone else had a stubborn one like that?
Had one like that recently, actually. Thought the cartridge was just being stubborn, but turns out the previous installer had jammed it in with some kind of adhesive or sealant...seriously, who does that? Took forever to scrape it all out without wrecking the faucet. Makes me wonder—do you guys think it's ever worth trying penetrating oil or heat in situations like this, or is drilling just the safer bet?
Yeah, been there myself—adhesive in faucets is a nightmare. Penetrating oil can help sometimes, but honestly, it's hit or miss. Heat's risky too; you gotta be careful not to damage seals or plastic parts nearby. Usually, if it's that stubborn, drilling carefully is the safer bet. Saves you time and frustration in the long run...just make sure you've got replacement parts handy before you start drilling. Learned that the hard way once.
"Heat's risky too; you gotta be careful not to damage seals or plastic parts nearby."
Totally agree on the heat issue—seen folks warp plastic cartridges trying that. Couple extra tips from experience:
- If drilling, start with a smaller bit and gradually size up. Less chance of cracking something important.
- Use masking tape around the area you're drilling into; helps prevent slipping and accidental scratches.
- And yeah, always have spare O-rings and cartridges handy...nothing worse than a faucet sitting disassembled while you run to the hardware store mid-job.
