There are different plumbing issues that all households deal with on a daily basis. However, one of the most common issues that seem to be present among most if not all houses are leaking taps. Usually, when your home has these leaking taps that need repairing, the best thing that you can do is to call on a plumber and have them fix the issue for you. Nonetheless, there are some leaking tap repairs that you can do all by yourself. One of the first things that you need to know about leaking taps is that it does not immediately necessitate calling a plumber to have the issue fixed. Below are some of the basic steps that you can take if you want to be repairing your leaking taps.
1. Turn off your water supply. Before you begin to deal with your leaking tap issue, you have to be sure that your water supply is turned off. Take some precautions in turning the valve off to ensure that it will not break apart.
2. Cover the sinkhole. Do not forget to have your sinkhole covered before starting the leaking tap repair work. Doing this ensures that no small materials such as washers and screws will fall down your drain.
3. Remove the head part of the tap. So that the retaining screw can be exposed, use a screwdriver to remove the screw from your tap cover. Once you have done so, secure the screw in a safe place. Proceed to remove the head part of the tap.
4. Expose the washer by removing the headgear nut. With the use of a spanner, have the bigger headgear nut of the tap removed. Do this step in a gentle manner so nothing damaging happens to the pipework that is attached to the nut. If you will be damaging the pipework, this will lead a major leak where you must then call a plumber to have it fixed for you. When you are having a hard time turning your headgear nut, you can put some oil around the joint. Wait for about 5 to 10 minutes for the joint to soak the oil. Proceed to remove it again once the time is up. You may also choose to apply some heat with the use of a blow torch or an electric paint stripper. Just be sure to be very careful as you use these kinds of equipment.
5. Remove the washer. Using your screwdriver, have the washer removed. You may be required to use some oil to provide adequate lubrication to your washer if you have a hard time removing it.
6. Replace your old washer with a new one. Once you are done fitting your new washer, make sure that you grease the base portion of your tap. You have to do this before you have everything put back in order.
7. Reassemble the tap. Using your spanner and screwdriver, put everything back into place. You can now turn back on your water supply to check if you have really resolved the issue.
If your tap is still leaking even after doing the above steps, avoid fixing everything again for you might encounter much more severe problems. Again, do not risk it again. Call a professional plumber instead.
