Faucet Repair in Takoma Park, MD

Can an old faucet in a Takoma Park house be saved?

Often, yes. Takoma Park began in 1883 as a Victorian-era commuter suburb on the District line, and its housing is among the oldest in Montgomery County. Many older faucets are compression types, where a rubber washer presses against a brass seat. Washers, seats, stems and packing are still widely available, and a plumber can reface or replace a worn seat. Replacement makes sense when the body is cracked, the stems are stripped or the finish has worn through.

Older wall-mounted tub and laundry faucets can be harder: the valves are behind tile or plaster, and corroded fittings may break during removal. A plumber will usually check access before recommending a repair.

How does the local water affect faucets?

WSSC Water supplies water and sewer service and disinfects with chlorine rather than chloramine. Its tap water analysis lists hardness averaging about 140 mg/L for water from its Potomac plant and about 64 mg/L from the Patuxent plant; which plant serves an address varies. That level of hardness leaves some white scale on aerators and cartridges over the years.

What about lead in older homes?

WSSC's What's Your Pipe Type? program inventories service line materials on both the utility and customer sides, checks lines listed as lead, unknown or galvanized, and helps customers replace lead lines on either portion. Part of the line belongs to WSSC and part to the homeowner, and WSSC asks to be notified before you replace your portion. Separately, very old faucets were often made with leaded brass. Replacing a decades-old fixture with a current model removes one possible source.

A note for Takoma Park homeowners

Plumbing permits in Montgomery County come from WSSC Water, and most plumbing work has to be done by a plumber registered with WSSC Water. If a faucet repair turns into a larger kitchen or bath project, Montgomery County handles building permits. When you call, describe the faucet type and where the water appears, and mention if stops or supply lines look original. Outdoor hose bibbs on older houses often aren't frost-free, so drain them and disconnect hoses each fall; a valve split by frost can leak inside the wall the next time it's opened.