Took me 11 hours to fix a leaky faucet in my garage because of one stupid O-ring

Phoenix Wood · 2026-10-18T07:20:04.106504+00:00

Last Saturday I decided to fix the slow drip on the utility sink in my garage in Tucson. I figured it would be a 30 minute job, maybe an hour tops, since I had watched a video and bought a $6 rebuild kit at the hardware place on Speedway. But when I pulled the cartridge out, the old O-ring had basically melted into the valve body and I could not get it out with a pick or a tiny flathead. I ended up driving back to the store twice (once for a removal tool, once because I stripped the seat trying to force it) and by hour 6 I was sitting on a bucket just staring at it. The whole thing finally came apart around 9pm after I soaked it in vinegar for 45 minutes and used a dental pick my wife had in the bathroom drawer. I kept thinking about how my dad would have had this done before lunch, and I actually said out loud to nobody, "this is why people just call a plumber." Has anyone else had a tiny rubber part turn a quick fix into an all day mess, and what finally got it loose for you?

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Took me 11 hours to fix a leaky faucet in my garage because of one stupid O-ring | Before I Forget - Thought Shares