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My kitchen mixer tap has been dripping for some weeks. Yesterday I tried to get the cap off and failed. I went and finished reading a novel instead. Today, with a renewed feeling of intent, I got a selection of screwdrivers and set to. I had bought some washers in the week so hoped I could do the job. I have never been good at plumbing, I'm still not, but it seems mixer taps don't have washers, they have cartridges. I watched a couple of you tube videos to see what I had to do, I then looked on Screwfix site to see how much they were. There are loads. Then someone suggested you measure across the bottom to see if it's 18 or 24 mm. I set to with a calliper, I'm more used to measuring insects. I needed 24 mm.
Off I went to Screwfix only to discover I had left my handbag at home and had no money. I came back, got my bag and set off again. The chap in Screwfix was very helpful, but told me I should have measured the spindle length on the top of the cartridge because they're all different. I opted to take a chance and actually, bought the right one. Back to the kitchen sink, got my adjustable spanner - what is it Burns says about man (in this case woman) proposes... I couldn't undo the cartridge.
I didn't use my full strength (that's a laugh I have trouble tearing a tissue), because if it broke it I'd be in deeper water (quite literally). I put it all back together, tidying away my tools and turned the mains water back on. Apart from nearly flooding my sink with the whoosh of water, when I turned it off, the tap stopped dripping.
So mission sort of accomplished, for how long I can't say, but if it starts dripping again, it's a job for the plumber.
Comments
Problems With Water
Domestic, that is. Unless you can isolate the problem by turning off the feed from the mains, don't go there! As you discovered there are different sizes and different connections to everything, particularly if the item you are trying to fix is some years old.
Trust me; I've been there and done that. It may seem expensive to hire a real plumber, but as long as you can get one the same day or next, you will save on your nerves, your time and frustration. Your problem was just a drip so you could live with it a little longer.
My most recent was a broken pipe to a toilet cistern and I woke in the morning to a very wet floor and an overflow into the adjacent bedroom, which was carpeted. I called a plumber and had it fixed by lunchtime and then I had to hire one of those drying machines and let it run in the bedroom for a day to dry the carpet.
washers vs. cartridges
Decades ago when we were young, mixer faucets did have washers. I have changed several over the years and still have some spares in my tool collection. But sometime since they started coming with cartridges instead. So now I call a plumber when needed.