This cheap grab bag o' faucet washers will come in handy one day

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/08/14/this-cheap-grab-bag-o-faucet.html

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ha, was only yesterday looking for my existing “bag 'o washers” with no luck…may have to get one of these, if I can find thirty bucks worth of other items I need as this is an Add On item.

I totally agree with this. And will likely buy one every time I need a faucet washer because I can’t find the other bags I bought each of the last 3 times I needed one.

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I have a jar of left over plumbing washers and bits. Every once in awhile I have to clear it of the dry rotted pieces.

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Quick trip to Ace hardware gets me what I need, plus they have a nice selection of candy.

no such thing as a quick trip to Home Depot or Lowes. It’s a Minotaur’s labyrinth and a miracle if you can escape in less than an hour.

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I remember when you could fix a leaky faucet with some spare washers. That was the 1950’s. Before they replaced faucet valves with these expensive ceramic cartridge dealies that fall apart every 2 years.

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I’ve accumulated a box of plumbing parts, and it always seems like I still need a piece.

You use up some parts, and it’s those parts you need the next time, not a wide range of different parts.

I suspect some of the issue is we aren’t plumbers, so we can’t easily tell what we need. So a selection hopefully provides the needed piece by comparison,or we have to take tye old part to tye store to compare.

The kitchen cold water tap started leaking, a cartridge different from the other taps. I ended up putting back one I’d taken out 25 years ago, I cant remember why I replaced it. I didn’t have replacement washers, now I do.

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+100 for Ace

A real hardware store, and most of the stuff they sell is either made in America or not cheap crap and is generally well made.

I have several near me and they aren’t common but they have fantastic Parts selection for Fasteners and everything under the sun that you can’t find anywhere else.

A little more expensive- but everything there is generally high-quality, unlike others I could mention

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Good luck! Those cheapo hardware store washers seem to only last about two months for me. After disassembling my shower faucets twice and cleaning out the showerhead flow restrictors, I bought the KolorKote faucet washer kit from Grainger (#3FLY8) and haven’t had any troubles with those.

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You should also grind the valve seats when replacing the washers, but nobody, including me does that. Just buy a new valve or whole new faucet because you want to update the decor.

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Harbor Freight sells boxes of assorted parts - box of bolts, washers, cotter pins, o-rings, etc. You get a box of different sizes for little more than a small bag at Home Depot costs. They often go on sale and I find them quite handy as would anybody who does their own tinkering.

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I’ve changed lots of washers and they lasted fine.

But I did eventually replace the seat on one. I can’t remember why I didn’t grind the old one. Maybe I figured I might grind without success, so I’d have to change the seat anyway.

Or maybe when I checked prices, a seat grinder was expensive compared to the price of the tool to remove the seat.

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Sending you as many thank yous as there are washers. This old motel has a variety of sinks and they all eat washers like a kid eats cotton candy. The link may also persuade the boss man that his only full-time employee isn’t ready for retirement!

Of course since my house was built in the 50s…The down side is that if you have to replace the stem, they don’t carry it in the local hardware store. You have to go to the professional plumbing supply place that closes at 4:00 where they don’t stock it either, but they do have the replacement which you can use.

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