Leaking taps are a common occurrence and a major annoyance. They are such an everyday problem that in the movies a leaking tap is used to symbolise everything from insomnia to torture.
But a bigger problem may be the underlying reason behind a leaking tap. A leaking tap may be a cry for help. It can be a sign that your tap has reached the end of its useful life and is slowly falling apart.
The simple reality is that taps have a certain lifespan and a leaking one may just inevitably get worse because of its age.
It’s Not as Simple as Replacing a Washer
There has been a common fallacy circulating for years that replacing a tap washer can easily fix a leaking tap. Not so. To start, a simple spindle tap has anywhere from 3-5 washers. Simply replacing the one that’s easiest to reach doesn’t begin to address the possible problems with the tap.
In order to get to the bottom of the leakage problem a professional plumber has to:
- Turn off the water supply
- Dismantle the tap and take out all the washers
- Check the tap seat to be sure its seated properly
- Clean the spindle and re-lubricate the tap
- Install all of the proper washers for that brand and model of tap
- Put the tap back together
- Turn on the water and test the tap to ensure that it’s operating properly
This is just the procedure with a traditional spindle tap. If you have a mixer tap, and they have become very popular since the 70s, the whole procedure becomes more complicated.
The Hidden Costs of that Simple Annoyance
You might be thinking to yourself that you can live with a leaking tap by just closing the door to the kitchen or bathroom. But in fact you’re just sticking your head in the sand while throwing money away.
A leaking tap can easily waste 240 litres of water every day, 365 days a year. And you’re paying for every single litre of that water. A leaking tap can easily run you over 300 dollars a year.
Leaking Taps Can be Fixed Within a Day
Generally, we carry parts to fix most brands of taps right in our vehicles. This means that tap can be fixed the same day that you call us. Even if your tap is an exotic brand, we can provide you with a temporary fix until we are able to get the correct parts.
So there is really no reason to put off getting your leaking tap fixed. We can pretty much guarantee you that, whatever type of tap you have, fixing it won’t cost you anywhere near 300 dollars.
You’ll be able to sleep better knowing that you’ve saved money as well as helped the environment by saving precious water as well.