I recently turned on my outdoor water for spring and discovered a significant leak at the connection to the spigot. I'm pretty sure my young dog was under the deck messing with the hose and tore off all the foam insulation. The leak is coming from a tan plastic piece on the right side of the connection, and I believe it just needs to be replaced. I attempted to twist it out, but it didn't budge and I think I may have cracked it. I'm not really experienced with plumbing, so I'm looking for basic instructions and the parts I need to fix this. It seems like there was already a lot of work done wrong with this plumbing setup, which makes this situation more complicated for me.
2 Answers
It sounds like you need to shut off the water inside first, then open the outdoor spigot to release any trapped water. You’ll likely find that it’s a push-to-connect fitting, typically used for PEX piping. There’s usually a large plastic washer that goes over the tan piece allowing you to remove it. Measure your pipe size, get a new fitting, and pick up a removal tool to help you out. After replacing it, consider securing the pipe and spigot with a wooden brace to prevent future issues.
Looks like you’re dealing with a Sharkbite fitting, which is pretty straightforward to replace. You can get a little plastic ring tool to help remove it—check at your local home improvement store. It's probably loose, so you might want to secure it better with some scrap wood and deck screws to ensure it stays stable. This should help prevent leaks down the road!
Exactly! Just grab that special removal tool that looks like a red horseshoe to help pop the connectors off. Then, you can easily put in the new fitting.