Types of Faucets and How to Tell Them Apart

Identifying your faucet type is an essential first step before any repair. This tutorial will give you an overview of the four most common types of faucets used in the home:

• Ball
• Disc
• Cartridge
• Compression

The first three (ball, disc and cartridge) are all types of "washerless faucets" since they do not use rubber or neoprene washers. The latter (compression) is very much your basic washer faucet. Let's take a look at each type and gain an overview of how they work and how they're different.