Read Where Your Hose Spigot Leaks, Then Fix the Right Part

The Problem

By This Old House's plumber's estimate, three quarters of the hose spigots in the country leak when you open them. Most owners live with the dribble for years because a faucet feels like a sealed unit. It isn't — an outdoor faucet is three serviceable parts, and the location of the leak tells you which one has failed.

The Technique

Leaking around the handle while the water runs — that's the bonnet, the nut-and-packing assembly that seals around the rising stem.

1. First try: snug up the bonnet nut (the nut the handle stem passes through). Tightening it recompresses the packing inside, and that alone stops most handle leaks.
2. If it still weeps, the packing is worn out. Shut off the water, remove the handle nut and handle, unscrew the bonnet nut, lift out the old packing, and seat a new one on top of the stem. Faucet repair kits at any home center carry an assortment of packings and washers.

Dripping from the spout with the handle closed — that's the stem washer, the rubber disc that presses against the seat to shut off flow.

1. Shut off the water supply to the spigot.
2. Loosen the bonnet nut and back the whole stem out of the faucet body.
3. At the base of the stem, a brass screw holds the washer. Fit the right size screwdriver squarely, bear down with solid pressure, and back it out slowly — brass that's lived its life underwater shears off if you rush it.
4. Swap the washer for a matching one from the kit, reassemble, and turn the water back on.