A lot of dripping taps can be easily remedied just by the changing of a little rubber washer.

Which tap is dripping? The same basic repair procedure applies to loads of them, the routine just varies slightly depending if it is upstairs, downstairs, a hot or cold tap and either a sink, basin or bath tap. Lots of taps (Unless they are of the quarter turn Ceramic Disc type) have a 1/2" or 3/4" rubber washer fitted which is the cause of most drips.

Let's start with a bog standard cold water kitchen sink tap. First of all, turn OFF the cold water incoming main tap which is generally located in the kitchen sink base unit but it may be elsewhere. You will soon know if you have turned off the right tap when you turn ON the CW sink tap that you are doing a washer tap change on. If it runs water for a short while then stops, you have the right one. If it carries on discharging water, then there must be another isolation tap elsewhere which needs turning OFF. Assuming you now have no water coming out of the tap to be worked on, all would appear to be safe to carry on.

Let's start
First of all, most important, put the plug in the sink. We don't want to lose any screws down the plug hole and have to dismantle part of the waste to retrieve them. Just a simple tip but worth its weight in Gold. Right, you need to remove the tap head by generally (In the case of plastic or acrylic heads, just flick off the little centre cover possibly with the aid of a sharp blade on the top of the head) and undo the small internal screw. Some are crosshead and some are slotted, use the correct screwdriver! Crosshed taps normally have a little side screw securing the head to the shaft.The tap head can now be lifted off, You will now see a gland locking nut holding the spindle and a bigger locking nut towards the base of the tap. This is the one that needs undoing and taking out to reveal the washer setup. Have a spanner or adjustable spanner set to the big nut size ready to unscrew this and preferably some pump pliars (Adjustable large grips) to hold the tap body to stop it turning when you undo the nut we are removing.

It is always good practice to put some cloth or something around the base of the tap to stop the pump pliars biting into the Chrome and spoiling it. When this unit is removed, you will see the rubber washer which may be worn or deformed or might just even have a build up of limescale on it, or it might have hardened over the years. This may be held in place by a liitle nut or pressed over a little peg and can be easily lifted off. The assembly should be wiped or brushed clean, the inside of the tap base cleaned and inspected for signs of wear or damage and the new washer is merely put back in place of the other and it's job done. If for any reason you have been given the wrong replacement washer, simply turn the original over to effect a temporary repair. Re-assembly is the reverse of the above procedure and hopefully an end to the dripping tap. Changing a washer on a Hot tap is basically the same with a few differences and is explained in Dripping tap No 2.

Author: A Shea

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