# Paging Joe the Plumber: Faucets **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 14, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707 "2008-11-14T14:43:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/1 "2008-11-14T14:43:40Z")
Okay, IMO faucets should work like this: Hot on the left, turn clockwise to open, widdershins to close Cold on the right, turn widdershins to open, clockwise to close But what I’ve got is: Bathroom 1: Hot on the left, clockwise to open, etc. Cold on the right, clockwise to open, etc. Bathroom 2: Hot on the left, widdershins to open Cold on the right, clockwise to open Bathroom 3 Hot on the right, clockwise to open Cold on the left, widdershins to open So in other words out of 6 faucets only one is right, and they’re all different. The result is that I have a better than even chance of blasting it on when I want to turn it off. So how hard is this to fix? Is this something I could do, or do I need a plumber? I think I could live with the faucets turning the “wrong” way, if they all turned the same way in every bathroom. But this is just perverse. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/2 "2008-11-14T14:48:23Z")
I don’t think there is any fix short of replacing the ones you don’t like. This may involve sweat soldering and pipe cutting, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/3 "2008-11-14T15:01:14Z")
That depends. If you have a cartridge style fixtures you may be able to replace the cartridge. If they are not cartridge style then the fixtures will have to be replaced. To replace the fixtures no cutting and soddering should be required. Shut the water off to the sink and begin unbolting ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/4 "2008-11-14T21:35:25Z")
Okay, thanks. Since I don’t even know what a cartridge-style fixture is, I think I need a plumber. But it sounds like it would be relatively easy and quick for a plumber to do, right? No need for all-new pipes? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/5 "2008-11-14T21:40:32Z")
Two anecdotes: First, I’ve never heard of counter-clockwise and anti-clockwise, but never widdershins. Color me informed. Second, we all know that H stands for hot and C stands for cold. However, in a lot of houses that I believe were built by Spanish speaking people, it is opposite. I think they took the C to stand for caliente (hot) and the H to stand for hielo (ice). Lastly, no, you don’t have to replace the pipes to replace the faucet or its valves. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/6 "2008-11-14T22:03:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Second, we all know that H stands for hot and C stands for cold. However, in a lot of houses that I believe were built by Spanish speaking people, it is opposite. I think they took the C to stand for caliente (hot) and the H to stand for hielo (ice). For the longest time when I was growing up, both of the faucets in the bathroom sink were labeled “H”. Eventually, though, Mom found a new cap that fit one of them and had a C on it instead. And the opposite of widdershins is usually considered to be deosil, not clockwise. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/7 "2008-11-14T22:07:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > For the longest time when I was growing up, both of the faucets in the bathroom sink were labeled “H”. Eventually, though, Mom found a new cap that fit one of them and had a C on it instead. > > And the opposite of widdershins is usually considered to be deosil, not clockwise. Where do those two words come from? ETA: Turns out they’re Gaelic for “sunwise” and “not sunwise”, according to Wiki. I never put together that a clock runs the way it does because that’s the way a sundial works, though. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/8 "2008-11-14T23:50:02Z")
I’m getting a good giggle out of seeing someone actually use the word “widdershins” in a not-traditional, but still correct, fashion. The easiest description for deosil and widdershins is clockwise and counter-clockwise, _with respect to the Earth’s surface_. “Clockwise” and “counter-clockwise” have no planetary reference. Unless a clock is laying face-up on a table, its hands will not be moving deosil or widdershins. As for the faucets, it’s a conscious decision by the faucet maker whether they use a combination of left- and right-hand threaded stems or just right-hand stems. As we’re talking about brass parts with machined threads, there’s no way to change them other than to completely change the faucets. ---
**Author:** ![Category5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Category5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Category5)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/9 "2008-11-15T00:22:39Z")
You may be able to just swap the incoming supply lines beneath the sink. That would get all your hot on the same side. Newer supply lines are flexible and some have a nylon “nut” you can tighten by hand. Remember to turn off the water supply first! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/10 "2008-11-15T02:12:32Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Okay, thanks. Since I don’t even know what a cartridge-style fixture is, I think I need a plumber. But it sounds like it would be relatively easy and quick for a plumber to do, right? No need for all-new pipes? Just to interject my two cents, this job will probably cost you far less if you call a handyman rather then a plumber. For an even better deal ask around, most likely you can find a friend that can do it for you. Faucets are pretty easy to swap out, just make sure you point out the one that has the hot and cold reversed so they can put it back the way it belongs. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paging-joe-the-plumber-faucets/472707/11 "2008-11-15T03:46:35Z")
I’ve done most of the finish plumbing in my houses. Any Joe can learn it. It’s easy if you know what you are doing and irritatingly difficult if you dont. It will not be worth the aggravation to do it yourself. Finish plumbing installed upon properly installed rough requires no soldering. Replacing faucets is an example. If soldering and/or re-routing of rough plumbing is required, that’s also easy if you know how and have the correct tools and pretty much impossible to learn on your own on the fly. Around here the convention is hot on the left, opening counterclockwise; cold on the right opening clockwise. If you don’t have a knowledgeable friend, I agree the least expensive route is a knowledgeable handyman. Do not buy new faucets until you are certain the current ones cannot be modified. If you do buy new ones on your own make sure they will be appropriate for the existing rough and the existing lavatory holes. Have someone come out and bid the whole job. Buy any replacements yourself at a Home Depot-type store and have the bidder explain which replacement fixtures will be the right kind. A handyman is more likely to offer to buy the hardware with less markup than a regular plumber. A faucet can range from $20 or so to hundreds of dollars or more. Avoid the very cheapest but you don’t need expensive ones.