The Best Way To Stop a Leaking Tap

Leaking taps can be annoying. You won’t notice them during the day with all the background noise at home. But, when the house goes quiet, the steady thunk of water hitting the sink will quickly become infuriating.

That’s actually a good thing! The average dripping tap will cost you $20 per month, that’s a significant expense over the course of a year.

You can contact your emergency plumber and get them to resolve the issue for you. This may be the simplest solution. However, it is a good idea to understand how to fix a leaking tap. It’s not as difficult as you may think.

Shut Off the Water

You’re going to be unscrewing the tap, which means you need to turn the water off. Take a look under the appliance, many plumbing systems have valves that allow you to turn the water off to one faucet.

If this isn’t the case you may need to turn the water off at the mains.

Unscrew The Tap

You can now unscrew the top of your tap. In most cases there will be a small cover that needs to be removed. This can be gently levered up. In other cases the screw is visible on top or hidden around the back.

Once you’ve removed it the head of the tap will come off and you’ll be able to see the head of the valve. That’s the section that turns the water on and off.

You will need a spanner to remove this.

Replace the Washer

Under the head of the valve you’ll see small washer. It is usually black and made of rubber or synthetic plastic. This has perished, usually through age. If you remove the washer you’ll be able to locate a replacement. In most cases this will be in a standard washer kit.

If the washer is unique you will need to speak to the supplier or manufacturer about getting another one. That will slow the process down!

Put The Tap Back Together

Once the new washer is seated correctly you can put the tap back together. That means adding the valve head and tightening it into position. Don’t over tighten this as you’ll compress the washer too much and make it leak even more.

You’ll then be able to screw the tap head back into position and clip any cover back on.

The tap will look just like before. All you have to do now s turn the water back on and check that the leak has stopped. It is very rare for this not to resolve the issue.

You should note that there are different types of taps and washers but the same basic principle is used every time. You need to get to the washer and replace it.

Washer will perish over time. This can simply be age or it can be because you have heavy-handed users that like to over tighten the tap when they turn it off.

The fact that it is so simple to repair means that you can do it straight away and save yourself the expense of a dripping tap.