How to Stop a Peerless Faucet From Dripping

Peerless faucets are available at Lowe's (as well as other big box stores), and the company is backed by Delta Faucet Company, one of the top faucet makers in North America. The Delta influence is apparent in the fact that some Peerless single-handle faucets, like Delta ones, have ball valves and some have cartridges. When it comes to Peerless faucet repair — and particularly stopping leaks — the difference isn't a big one because in both cases the repair usually involves replacing rubber gaskets or O-rings. Those are easy tasks for ball-valve and cartridge faucets.

When a ball-valve faucet is leaking from the spout, the problem can usually be traced to the rubber gaskets covering the water inlet holes inside the valve housing and the springs behind them. The purpose of the springs is to push the gaskets against the ball when the water is off. When they wear out, water begins seeping through and comes out the spout. To replace the springs and gaskets, you have to remove the ball assembly:

1. Turn off the shutoff valves.
2. Remove the handle, using either a 1/8-inch hex wrench or a Phillips screwdriver.
3. Unscrew the dome-shaped ball cover. You can usually do this by hand.
4. Unscrew the ball retainer, using a pair of locking pliers.
5. Lift out the ball to expose the two gaskets in the bottom of the valve housing.
6. Remove the gaskets by prying them out with a screwdriver. The springs should come with them.

Replace the gaskets and springs using Peerless faucet parts from Lowe's or some other hardware store. Before you replace the ball, check it for nicks and gouges and replace it if necessary before re-assembling the faucet and turning the water back on.

Peerless shower and tub faucets and double-handle faucets usually have cartridge valves, as do some single-handle faucets. When these faucets leak, the problem may be worn gaskets in the inlet holes, worn O-rings or damaged cartridges. When the faucet leaks, it's usually a good idea to replace everything, including the cartridge.

1. Turn off the water.
2. Remove the handle.
3. Unscrew the retaining nut, using locking pliers.
4. Grasp the valve stem with pliers and lift out the cartridge. If it's stuck, pour in some vinegar to dissolve the mineral deposits binding it. Wait a few hours and try again.
5. Check inside the valve housing for rubber gaskets in the inlet holes and lift out any you find using a screwdriver.
6. Replace the cartridge and all the O-rings and gaskets. A Peerless faucet cartridge along with all its O-rings usually costs less than $20, so the repair shouldn't be expensive.

If your Peerless faucet is leaking from under the handle, it's usually because the retaining nut holding the cartridge or ball valve is loose. Luckily it can be fixed in a couple of simple steps:

• To access it, you have to remove the handle and the dome-shaped collar.
• Then, you can tighten it with pliers. Note: You shouldn't have to turn off the water to make this repair.

Peerless shower faucets sometimes include a set of seats and springs behind the actual cartridge, and these can wear out. Here's how to remedy this issue:

• After disassembling the faucet and removing the cartridge, pull out the seats and springs.
• Replace them with parts from an appropriate Peerless repair kit.

Another problem you might encounter when Peerless shower faucet troubleshooting is a failure of the shower diverter to send all the water to the shower. While it's normal for a pencil-thin flow to come from the tub spout when the shower is on, any more than that means that you may need to replace the diverter, which means replacing the tub spout.