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STANDARD WASHER, FAUCET PARTS

Description: This is a small black or red doughnut -shaped item. A washer may be flat or beveled -- sloped -- on one side and made of rubber or neoprene.

Buying information: Neoprene washers are more durable than rubber ones, and they work better. Unlike rubber, neoprene doesn't swell, slightly reducing water flow, when the water is hot. You can get washers in boxes of 100, but for the do-it-yourselfer a small boxed assortment usually contains enough sizes to handle most of the faucets in the house, as well as screws for attaching them. If you keep the washers in an airtight jar, they will stay fresh for many years.

Flat washers are often used on new faucets, but for repair work the beveled type seals better because the seat it sits on will likely be slightly pitted and the bevel is shaped for fuller contact.

How-to hints: Sometimes the screw that holds the washer is frozen in place and can't be turned with a screwdriver. To remove it, first turn off the water. Dig out the washer around it, apply a few drops of penetrating oil, wait a few minutes, then grasp the screw head with pliers and turn the screw.

Make sure the screws you use are pure brass, not brass-colored steel, which will corrode. The package may tell you. If not, inquire, or, failing this, try to pick up the screw with a magnet: brass will not respond, but steel will.

Manufacturers make the same nominal sizes of washers in actual different sizes. For example, a so-called quarter washer from one manufacturer will be different from that of another. The only way to ensure a correct fit is to try it.

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