Where to get washers for old taps

Have they swollen with over tightening?

Just cut down bathtap washers. It's quicker than ordering online.

NT

Wot 'e said.

Or, if inclined to buy tools: a "gasket punch"*. A hole punch set, but with a centering pin to allow sunsequent concentric cuts, i.e. outer edge, then inner hole.

Then cut your own...

Thomas Prufer

• in ebay-speak: Hollow Punch Set Hole Punch Tool Leather Plastic Foam gasket Fibre

I'd wondered that but the rubber is quite hard so I can't imagine more than a mm or two at most.

All the ones I've seen have large middle holes, mine is about 1/4".

If I cut down a bathtap washer it won't seal the bath tap.

I got an assortment box from IIRC Screwfix. Should see me out. ;-)

But have you looked in the sheds? They might be more likely to have older spares than a plumber's merchant. Or an old hardware shop, if you can find one.

keep lookimg ther are kits with those in

A trick for from old-car-restorers: rubber softens if soaked in fabric softener. I tried this and it worked surprisingly well, though soaking takes days and weeks. The rubber also smells "pleasantly fresh", for a very long time.

So maybe a scentless softener? Or some sort of silicone oil similar to the in the softener, maybe? I think silicones are the active ingredient in this case -- does someone know?

Thomas Prufer

You'll probably find that the seating that the washer screws down on has grooves caused by years of grit in the water, so you might have to grind them down, in such a way to get rid of the grooves without widening the radial area of contact if possible.

If you find you're replacing tap washers more frequently then it's well worth investing in a re-seating tool - a nice fresh face on the valve seat makes taps work better and last longer between servicing.

Nothing here?