How to Fix a Dripping Tap Yourself
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A dripping tap sounds like a plumbing job and most of the time it is a worn rubber washer, which is a twenty minute fix with a spanner and a screwdriver and costs about as much as a coffee.
Why it drips
The washer at the bottom of the spindle squashes down over the years until it stops sealing, or grit gets into the seat it presses against. On a mixer tap there is no washer at all, there is a ceramic cartridge, and those wear out too. Either way the tap is not broken, it has a worn part in it.
Turn the water off first, and mean it
There are usually isolation valves under the sink. If there are not, shut it off at the meter. Then open the tap to let the pressure out, because the pressure is what turns a small job into a wet one. Put the plug in the sink while you are at it, because the little brass screw will find the drain if you give it the chance.
Getting into it
Pop the hot or cold button off the top of the handle, undo the screw underneath, and lift the handle off. Under that is the cover and then the spindle. Wind the spindle out with a spanner and the washer is on the end of it.
The washer
Take the old one off, put a new one of the same size on, and a smear of tap grease helps it seat. Wind it back in hand tight first and then just nip it up with the spanner, because overtightening is what chews out the seat and turns a washer job into a reseating job.
The mixer cartridge
Same idea, different part. Lift the old cartridge out, take note of which way round it sits, and drop the new one in the same orientation. Cartridges are specific to the tap, so bring the old one in with you rather than guessing.
When to stop and ring a plumber
If it still drips with a new washer, the seat is worn and it needs reseating. If water is coming from the base of the tap rather than the spout, that is a different problem. And anything behind the wall or in the pipework is licensed work, so that is the point to stop, and there is no shame in it.
What to bring in
Bring the old washer or the old cartridge with you. Sizes vary and matching the part in your hand takes thirty seconds, where describing it over the phone takes ten minutes and is often still wrong. We carry Holman and Philmac for plumbing, and washers and tap gear live behind the counter rather than on the website, so just ask.
Shop related products
- Plumma's Blue Glue Type N PVC Solvent Cement 125ml. For the pipework jobs that are not taps.
- Plumma's Red Priming Fluid PVC Pipe Primer 125ml. Goes on before the blue glue.
- Sutton Bi-Metal Cobalt Holesaw 22mm. For when a tap job turns into a new benchtop.
The rest is in plumbing and hardware, and the washers themselves are a counter job.
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Candeece. Self-taught, still learning, still asking Guru.
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