Plumbing problems are common at homes and one of the most common issue faced by any homeowner is leaking taps. For most of the plumbing issues you have to call a professional plumber but there are certain steps that you can try to fix a leaky tap before calling a plumber. These are simple to perform and you can save your money.
Before working on the leaking tap, you have to turn off the water supply first. Be careful when turning the valve off so that it won't break apart.
Once you have turned off the main water supply, the next step is to cover the sink hole so as to prevent things like screws and washers from falling inside the drain. Next, unscrew the tap cover to remove the rest of the screws and keep them aside safely. Then remove the head of the tap.
Once you have removed all the other screws, its now time to remove the larger headgear nut using a spanner. But make sure that you do not cause any damage to the pipe work attached to it otherwise you will be in a bigger problem and will have to take some experts help to get out of it.
If the headgear nut is still difficult to turn, you could apply some oil around the joint and wait for about 5-10 minutes for it to soak in the oil before trying to remove it again. You could also try to apply some heat to it by using an electric paint stripper or a blow torch but always remember to be careful when using such equipments.
After removing the headgear nut, remove the washer using a screwdriver. You can apply oil here also to make your work easier.
After fitting the new washer, grease the base of the tap before putting everything back into place. Put everything back into place using a screwdriver and a spanner. Turn on the water supply and check if the problem was solved.
If you are not able to fix the problem after trying out the above steps, call a plumber without any delay as there might be some other complicated problem which can lead to serious and costly damage later on if not taken care of now.
Author Resource:
Scott Rodgers is a highly knowledgeable writer who has been providing great guidance on plumbing works all over the country. His incredible knowledge has, in fact, sparked significant rise in revenue for talented plumbers across the nation, from North Fort Myers Plumbers to Katy Plumbers .