Watched my kitchen faucet handle snap off after 8 years of use

I was doing dishes last Thursday in my Riverside apartment when the hot water handle just broke clean off in my hand. The plastic inside had gotten brittle over time so it snapped right at the base. I didn't want to buy a whole new faucet since money's tight right now. I dug through my junk drawer and found a thick metal paperclip that I bent into a sort of lever shape. I wedged it into the hole where the handle used to be and it actually turns the water on and off now. It looks dumb with a paperclip sticking out of the faucet but it works. Has anyone else fixed a broken handle with something weird like a coin or a staple?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.kim26d ago

Tbh I used a butter knife for three months after my shower handle snapped and it worked surprisingly well.

leehall26d ago

Hey, did you try using a penny or a dime in there? I had a similar thing happen with an old bathroom faucet a couple years back... the handle just gave out one morning. I ended up using a flathead screwdriver to turn the stem for a few weeks until I found a replacement at a salvage store for like three bucks. The paperclip trick is smart though, I bet it works way better than my screwdriver setup... at least yours probably doesn't scrape up the metal inside. I left mine looking janky with the screwdriver hanging out of it for longer than I care to admit.

the_olivia25d ago

Did you try vice grips on the stem? That's what I did when my handle stripped out, worked way better than a screwdriver and didn't scratch anything up.