What causes a dripping tap

There are many different reasons for a tap to start dripping. Some of them you can easily fix yourself, for others, you do need a professional plumber to come in. If you are not sure, rather call in a professional before you flood your home trying to fix it

Potential causes of a dripping tap

• Water dripping from a tap can be due to a worn washer – step by step instructions on changing a worn washer can be found here
• Dripping taps after a washer has been replaced could mean that taps need reseating.
• To repair a tap that needs to be reseated a 24 hour plumbing service technician will use a specialised tool to re-cut a new surface to provide proper sealing
• Dripping taps that require tap repair can be extremely frustrating
• When you constantly need to tighten a tap tighter and tighter it means that there is something going wrong that needs to be repaired and in most cases it means a washer change
• In some cases taps cannot be taken apart to change a washer which means a complete tap replacement will be necessary
• Dripping taps are a common tap problem, in some cases the valve seal will have eroded as a result of a tap that has been left to drip for too long
• There are a number of different tap designs and each one can have a slightly different reason for breakage that result in the need to repair a tap
• Pressure build up of water from a cold water tap fed straight from the main supply creates erosion in the brass seat allowing water to pass under the washer and through the tap
• Some modern taps with washers made of a soft rubber are easily damaged when force is used to open and shut

Replacing dripping taps or buying new fixtures

Constantly dripping taps can become such a nuisance. Have you ever tried to concentrate or sleep with a tap that is leaking water? In some instances a tap repair can be rectified immediately by calling a 24 hour plumbing service. In order to repair a tap with water dripping from a taps handle requires tightening of the bolt inside.

Another idea to consider with continually dripping taps that are beginning to show wear and tear resulting in the need to repair a tap frequently would be to upgrade all your taps with new ones. You could call in a 24 hour plumbing service to do a tap repair or you could take the opportunity to replace all all the taps, not only the faulty tap, with a new fixture of your own choosing thus improving your home décor with something more pleasing and less irritating with no water dripping.

Contact Laws Plumbing