Tried to fix a leaky faucet in August and ended up flooding the bathroom

I thought I knew what I was doing. Watched like 4 YouTube videos, felt confident. Turned off the water, took apart the handle, replaced the cartridge. Then I turned the water back on and water was spraying everywhere from under the sink. Turns out I didn't tighten the compression nut enough. Took me another hour to clean up the mess. My wife just stood there shaking her head lol. Anyone else learn the hard way that watching a 10 minute video doesn't make you a plumber?

3 comments

3 Comments

felixfisher2mo ago

Wait you actually flooded the whole bathroom? I used to think plumbing was one of those easy DIY things, like changing a lightbulb. Then I tried to fix a running toilet and somehow snapped the fill valve in half with too much force, water shooting straight up like a fountain. Had to run to the hardware store in my pajamas for a new one while my wife was not laughing at all. YouTube makes everything look so clean and easy but they don't show you the part where you're soaked and swearing at a pipe.

lisak262mo ago

@felixfisher That fill valve wasn't held on by magic, you must've turned it the wrong way.

margaretm2326d ago

Right? "YouTube makes everything look so clean and easy" is the truest thing ever. They edit out the panic and the 45 minute trip to the hardware store in soaking wet clothes. I tried to replace a sink trap once because of a leak, and I ended up cross threading the whole thing so bad I had to cut it off with a hacksaw. The video guy just twisted it on with one hand and smiled. My wife still brings up the "basin wrench incident" at family dinners. Have you ever actually had to go back to the store twice in one day before?