Faucet & Valve Repair in Dunwoody, GA

Some of the most common faucet and valve repair calls in Dunwoody involve valves that leak only when someone touches them. A shutoff that has sat open for years gets turned for the first time, and suddenly water beads under the handle or drips from the stem. The culprit is usually the packing, a small seal that is easy to overlook and often easy to fix.

What packing does

On multi-turn valves, including gate valves, many older stop valves and the shutoff on a water heater's cold inlet, the stem passes through the valve body to the handle. A packing nut squeezes a seal around the stem, traditionally graphite or fiber packing and on newer valves an O-ring, so water cannot escape along the stem as it turns. When that seal dries out or wears, turning the handle opens a path for water. Quarter-turn ball valves use stem seals as well, and those can wear in a similar way.

How to spot a stem leak

• A drip or bead of water from under the handle, often only while the valve is being turned or just afterward.
• White or green crust built up around the packing nut.
• Rust streaks on the pipe or wall below the valve.
• A handle that turns far more easily than it used to, which can mean the packing has worn away.

Rust streaks below a valve that has dripped for a long time may mean water reached the wall or subfloor, and leak detection and repair can check how far it went.

Repair options, from smallest to largest

1. Snug the packing nut. With the valve open, a small turn of the packing nut can recompress the seal and stop a minor weep. Overtightening makes the handle hard to turn, so this is done gently.
2. Repack the stem. With the water off, the packing nut is removed and new packing or an O-ring is fitted around the stem.
3. Replace the stem or washer. If the valve also lets water by when closed, the internal washer or stem may be worn.
4. Replace the valve. When the body is corroded, the stem is bent or broken, or parts are unavailable, a new valve, often a quarter-turn ball valve, is the dependable answer.

Packing leaks are a small slice of faucet and valve repair, which also takes in the faucets and spigots these valves feed.

Exercising valves without causing trouble

Valves that are never moved are the ones that seize. Closing your shutoffs and reopening them once or twice a year keeps them working, but old valves deserve some care:

• Start with valves you know are in reasonable condition, and turn them gently by hand only.
• Keep towels nearby, and know where the main shutoff is before you begin.
• If a valve will not move without force, leave it open and add it to the repair list rather than putting a wrench on it.
• Expect a brief weep from the packing on older valves; a slight snug of the nut often cures it, but steady dripping needs attention.

Map your valves

While you are at it, tag each valve with what it controls: the main, the water heater, outdoor faucets, each sink and toilet, the laundry. In a flood, nobody wants to guess. Note the gaps too, such as a fixture with no stop or an outdoor faucet with no interior shutoff, because adding those valves is a modest job that makes every later repair easier. If water is running and the house cannot be shut off at all, emergency plumbing in Dunwoody is the right call, and Alpha answers those calls 24/7.

How the city handles plumbing repairs

Dunwoody's Community Development department handles a stand-alone plumbing repair with a single trade permit, and work generally waits until that permit is issued. Whether a particular valve repair needs one is worth confirming with the department before the work is scheduled.

Questions about valve repair in Dunwoody

Is a dripping packing nut an emergency?

Rarely. A slow weep from the stem after the valve was turned is usually a nuisance rather than a threat, and a towel or small container can catch it until the packing is snugged or replaced. It becomes urgent when the drip turns into a steady stream, when water is reaching drywall or flooring, or when the valve can no longer be closed.

Which valves should be tested first?

Start with the main shutoff, since every other repair depends on it, then the cold inlet on the water heater and the stops under the toilets, which tend to be needed in a hurry. Laundry valves and outdoor faucet shutoffs come next. Working in that order means the valve you would reach for in a flood is known to work before the others are touched.

Is it better to repack an old valve or replace it?

Repack it if the only fault is the weep at the stem and the valve still shuts the water off completely. Once a valve also leaks through when closed or shows heavy corrosion, new packing fixes only half the problem, and a quarter-turn replacement is better value for the same shutdown, with a handle that shows at a glance whether it is open.

Have your valves checked

If a shutoff in your Dunwoody home drips from the stem or will not turn, call Alpha Plumbing and Sewer at (404) 409-4448. Valves worth saving can be repacked, and the rest replaced.