Fix a Leaky Hose Spigot

The Problem

An outdoor spigot that sprays or dribbles from its top while the hose is running looks broken in a way it isn't. The leak's location is the diagnosis: handle leaks are packing, spout drips are the stem washer — and top leaks are the vacuum breaker, the anti-siphon cap that keeps hose water from being sucked back into your drinking supply. Its internal parts wear out, and when they do, it leaks up and out.

The Technique

1. Unscrew the cap on top of the spigot to expose the vacuum breaker beneath.
2. Unscrew the old vacuum breaker. Some are held by a small set screw or a break-off screw; most thread straight off.
3. Match the replacement to your faucet's brand before buying. Vacuum breakers come in slightly different sizes — check the brand stamped on the faucet and get the direct replacement, or you'll be making the second trip this creator warns you about.
4. Screw on the new breaker and the cap. Leak gone; the anti-siphon protection is new again.

(The same video fixes a spigot installed too close to the wall by adding an exterior blocking pad behind it — worth knowing if you can't get a hose on yours without skinning knuckles.)

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.