A hard to turn tap
Some plumbing changes in your home happen so slowly, you do not even realize anything is different. Taps are a great example of this—one day you realize the tap is difficult to turn, and wonder how it ever got that way. It did not become hard to turn overnight, but fixing a hard-to-turn tap is a quick repair any homeowner can do themselves.
Figuring out why the tap is difficult to turn is the first step. Your valve may be worn out or there could be limescale build up. Either way, the fix is relatively easy. The key is paying attention to the order you take apart the tap, so you can reverse that order when putting back together.
Before taking apart the tap be sure to TURN THE WATER OFF! Once you have taken your tap apart, take a look at the valve, if there is a lot of lime scale or it is worn out, you now have to make a choice. If it is as simple as replacing a washer or cleaning off the lime scale, this is a quick fix. But if it needs to be replaced, take the valve with you to the plumbers merchant, this way you know you are getting the correct part to fix the problem.
Now, if you have replaced the valve or even if you just cleaned it, prior to putting everything back together, you want to make sure everything is greased up. And when reassembling the tap be sure to go in reverse order from when you took it apart to make sure you are not forgetting anything.
Once you have it reassembled, clean up any water around the tap before turning on the water supply, to make leak detection easier. Finally, turn on the water supply, test the tap handle, and check for leaks.
If no leaks are found, congratulations! Now if there are still leaks or the tap handle is not turning easily, feel free to call 020 7350 2511 or click here to have one of our helpful staff see what the issue may be.