Dripping tap

aardvaak

I have a tap used as a drinking water tap (bypasses water softener) in my kitchen that constantly drips even though is turned off even using a wrench.

It is costing me a fortune in water.

It really should be removed as totally useless (put in by a previous owner)

Owain_Moneysaver

I think a drinking water tap is legally required.

A service valve is also legally required (but possibly wasn't when the tap was put in) so you can turn the water to it off easily.

Is there a reason why you can't replace the tap washer/cartridge?

Robin9

Is there an inline valve associated with the tap - justs needs a flat bladed screwdriver.

nofoollikeold

1. If leaking from gland nut, tighten gland nut, re-sealing with PTFE tape if necessary.
2. Change tap washer, or cartridge if 1/4 turn tap.
3. Replace tap.

Either 2. or 3. will require isolation of water supply.

Jackmydad

nofoollikeold wrote: »

1. If leaking from gland nut, tighten gland nut, re-sealing with PTFE tape if necessary.
2. Change tap washer, or cartridge if 1/4 turn tap.
3. Replace tap.

Either 2. or 3. will require isolation of water supply.

This. Worth noting though that if it's the type of tap with a washer, the seat can sometimes need recutting. You can get a tool to do that, but keep the recutting to a bare minimum cut, as light as possible. A lot of modern taps seem to be rubbish though. I had a new(ish) tap that wouldn't stop dripping. Recutting revealed that the seat was quite a bit out of square with the washer.

aardvaak

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

I think a drinking water tap is legally required.

A service valve is also legally required (but possibly wasn't when the tap was put in) so you can turn the water to it off easily.

Is there a reason why you can't replace the tap washer/cartridge?

There is no service valve, tap or stop !!!!


How do I 'replace' the tap washer?

aardvaak

nofoollikeold wrote: »

1. If leaking from gland nut, tighten gland nut, re-sealing with PTFE tape if necessary.
2. Change tap washer, or cartridge if 1/4 turn tap.
3. Replace tap.

Either 2. or 3. will require isolation of water supply.

It is dripping through the spout

aardvaak

Robin9 wrote: »

Is there an inline valve associated with the tap - justs needs a flat bladed screwdriver.

No inline valve

aardvaak

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

I think a drinking water tap is legally required.

A service valve is also legally required (but possibly wasn't when the tap was put in) so you can turn the water to it off easily.

Is there a reason why you can't replace the tap washer/cartridge?

Legal requirement does not come into it with this type of house

googler

aardvaak wrote: »

No inline valve

Work your way back to where the water comes in to the house. Is there a stop valve for the whole house, perhaps one near your water meter?

If not, you need to look outside the house for a buried stop valve forming part of the local water board's system

One way or the other, you need to stop the flow of water to the tap in order to maintain it. Once you've done this, you can fit an isolation valve to the pipework near the tap to simplify the process in future.

blackshirtuk

aardvaak wrote: »

It is costing me a fortune in water.

Thames Water calculates that its tap water costs around 0.097p a litre – or around 1p for a bucket of water.