Leaking Kitchen Faucet in Calgary: Repair or Replace?

A leaking kitchen faucet rarely fixes itself. The drip gets faster, the cabinet below gets damp, and the water bill creeps up. The good news: most leaks come from one small worn part, and you can usually tell within ten minutes whether a repair or a replacement is the smarter move. Here's how Calgary homeowners can sort it out.

First: where is the water actually coming from?

"My faucet leaks" can mean four very different problems. Dry the faucet with a towel, turn the water on and off, and watch.

• Drip from the spout when the faucet is off. Almost always a worn cartridge (or washers and seats in an older two-handle faucet).
• Water pooling around the base of the faucet. Worn O-rings or seals inside the body, or a loose mounting nut.
• Leak around the handle. A loose handle screw, a worn cartridge seal or a cracked cap.
• Water only under the sink. Could be the supply lines, the shut-off valves, the pull-down hose or the faucet connections. This one needs a flashlight and a dry paper towel.

If the cabinet floor is wet, check it first. Our guide to a kitchen sink cabinet leak check walks through what to look for.

Why kitchen faucets leak in Calgary

Kitchen faucets work harder than any other tap in the house. In Calgary, a few local factors make it worse.

Hard water. The City of Calgary reports hardness in the range of roughly 141 to 200 mg/L for water from the Bearspaw plant (north Calgary) and about 181 to 274 mg/L for Glenmore (south Calgary), varying through the year. That calcium and magnesium dries into scale inside cartridges and aerators. Scale scratches the ceramic discs and stiffens the seals, and the faucet starts to drip. We cover this in more detail in how hard water builds up in Calgary faucets.

Age. Many Calgary homes in Acadia, Haysboro, Brentwood and other established communities still have the original kitchen faucet from a renovation 15 or 20 years ago. Seals do not last forever.

Cold-water temperature swings. Alberta winters mean very cold incoming water, and metal and rubber parts expand and contract all year. Over time that loosens connections and hardens seals.

Heavy daily use. Pull-down sprayers, hot and cold cycles and a lot of handle movement wear out the same few parts.

What a leaking faucet costs you

A drip feels harmless, but it adds up. The U.S. EPA's WaterSense program notes that a faucet dripping once per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water a year. Household leaks overall waste thousands of gallons a year per home.

The bigger cost is hidden damage. A slow leak under the sink can swell particleboard cabinet bottoms, loosen the finish and grow mould. Fixing the faucet early is far cheaper than replacing a cabinet.

When repair makes sense

A repair is the right call when the faucet itself is in good shape and only a small part has failed.

Repair if:

• The faucet is under roughly 10 years old and the finish is still good.
• It's a common brand (Moen, Delta, Kohler, Grohe and similar) where the exact cartridge or seal kit is easy to get.
• The leak is a drip from the spout, a stiff handle or a weeping handle base.
• The body is not corroded or cracked, and nothing is leaking from the body itself.
• You like the faucet and its height, reach and style still suit your kitchen.

A typical repair means shutting off the water, swapping the cartridge, replacing O-rings and seals, and descaling the aerator and spout while everything is apart. It is usually quick and keeps the faucet you already have.

For a closer look at the part itself, see when to replace a faucet cartridge vs. the whole faucet.

When replacement is smarter

Sometimes a repair only buys you a few months. Replace the faucet when:

• The body is corroded, pitted or cracked. Leaks from the body can't be fixed with a new cartridge.
• The finish is peeling or flaking (common on cheaper faucets after years of hard water and cleaners).
• Parts are impossible to find. Discontinued models or unbranded faucets often have no available cartridge.
• It has leaked more than once. Repeat repairs on the same faucet usually mean other parts are worn out too.
• The pull-down hose or sprayer is failing. If the hose leaks or the sprayer won't retract, replacing the whole faucet is often simpler than chasing parts.
• You want an upgrade. A pull-down faucet with a better flow and a tall spout makes a real difference in a busy kitchen.
• The supply lines and shut-offs are also tired. Doing it all in one visit saves a return trip.

A simple rule: if the repair cost gets close to a mid-range new faucet, or the faucet is past 10 to 15 years, replacement usually wins.

Quick DIY checks before you call

Try these safe, simple steps first. They fix a surprising number of "leaks."

1. Tighten the handle. Many handles hide a small set screw under a cap. A loose handle can seep.
2. Check the aerator. Unscrew it, soak it in white vinegar for 30 minutes, and rinse. Clogged aerators can spray water sideways.
3. Dry and watch. Wipe everything dry, put a paper towel under the faucet and check again in an hour to see exactly where the water appears.
4. Look at the supply lines. Run a dry paper towel along them and the shut-off valves. A damp spot points to the real source.
5. Know your shut-off. If you can't stop the water at the valve under the sink, locate the main. Our guide to finding your main water shut-off valve in Calgary helps.

Don't force a handle that's stuck or over-tighten plastic nuts. That is how a small leak turns into a cracked fitting.

What a visit from a YOFF technician looks like

When you book us, our technician finds the source of the leak first, then gives you a straight answer: repair or replace, with the reason. If a cartridge swap does the job, that's all we do. If replacement is better, we remove the old kitchen faucet, install the new one, connect the supply lines and test for leaks.

We also check the shut-off valves and the cabinet floor while we are there. It costs nothing extra and prevents the next leak. And with our No Fix, No Fee promise, you don't pay if we can't fix it.

FAQ

How do I know if my kitchen faucet needs a new cartridge or a new faucet? If the faucet is fairly new, in good shape, and drips from the spout or leaks around the handle, a new cartridge usually solves it. If the body is corroded, the finish is flaking or the faucet has leaked repeatedly, replacement is the better value.

Is a leaking kitchen faucet an emergency? Not usually, but don't leave it. If water is pooling under the sink or running onto the cabinet floor, close the shut-off valves under the sink and call. Slow drips can wait a day or two, but they damage cabinets over time.

Does Calgary's hard water make faucets leak more? It speeds up wear. Calgary's water is hard, and mineral scale builds up in cartridges, aerators and spouts. Cleaning the aerator regularly and replacing worn parts early helps your faucet last longer.

How long does a kitchen faucet usually last? It depends on the brand, the water and the use, but around 10 to 15 years is a common range. Cheaper models may fail sooner.

Can a handyman replace a kitchen faucet? Yes. Kitchen faucet repair and replacement are standard handyman jobs, as long as the work is at the faucet, the supply lines and the shut-off valves. Work that involves moving pipes inside walls is a different job for a specialized company.

Fix it once, fix it right

A leaking kitchen faucet is a small problem if you deal with it early and a messy one if you don't. If you're in Calgary and want a straight answer on repair versus replacement, book a YOFF technician and we'll sort it out, usually in a single visit.