Tap sticking

[Martin Pentreath]

Hi All,

I have basin taps of a conventional column design looking a bit like this:

hot tap has started to stick - you open it up and most of the time now a bit of water comes out but then nothing. Occasionally it does work but that's a rarity now. At first I thought there was an airlock somewhere, but this doesn't seem very feasible given the layout of the pipework. The bath tap which is on the same leg of pipework works fine.

I think that the tap mechanism is sticking. Should it be fairly easy to dismantle the tap and fiddle around with it to get it going again? What sort of fiddling around might be required?

Cheers!

Martin

[AlanC]

My mother-in-law had a similar problem the other week when we went to visit her. She said that a friend of hers had taken a look and said it needed a new washer. So I nip down to the local hardware store and buy a few washers (different sizes as I didnt know what size hers were). When I took it appart it was the small retaining clip that had worked itself off. The clip is located under the shroud that covers the tap body.

Alan

[The Medway Handyman]

I've come across exactly the same problem & solution several times.

[Martin Pentreath]

OK, thanks Alan and Dave, sounds like a straightforward job.

[Frank Erskine]

Saying that's very often the kiss of death where taps are concerned...

:-)

[The Medway Handyman]

I've lost count of the 'straightforward' plumbing jobs that have taken hours extra :-)

[John]

This problem makes a good case for a bit of routine "taking off the head and applying a bit of lubrication"

John (a bit obsessive about oiling things)