There is nothing more annoying than hearing your tap dripping. The noise is untimely, the mess of water is also annoying. In France, 40% of faucets regularly lose a drop. Many homeowners and renters do not dare to call a plumber for fear of a bill too high. However, a tap dripping constantly represents a loss of 4 liters of water per hour. That's nearly 92 liters of water a day, almost two-thirds of the average water consumption of a person living in the West. We arrive at over 35 cubic meters per year, which is finally equivalent to the price of a new mixer with flexible, that is to say a high-end faucet.
The reasons
A valve may drip due to a faulty seal. The cartridge, if it is a mixer tap may be too worn. Because of a valve that closes badly and creates a call for water.
Failure seal
Used seals can be replaced with the filter at the spout for mixing faucets. It is then necessary to unscrew the end piece, to look at the state of the joint. Sometimes it can be due to tartar, a bath in white vinegar for 48 hours can do the trick. A toothbrush allows you to pick it up. The grid can also be damaged too much. It is possible to replace it. In general it is the aging of the joint; it is deformed or the plastic has curled up on itself. To change it, it will be necessary to select a joint of the same dimension. It will be necessary to wait until the joint expands to fulfill its role of buffer.
There is also sometimes a seal at the base of the faucet. But normally only the base has to flee if it is involved. In this case, it is necessary to pull on the head of the tap to take it out of its base. Remember to close the water supply before starting this operation.
Cartridge
Mixers that taste often have a problem of too worn cartridges. It must be changed. It is located under the water opening system. We cut the water supply. We bring a basin and a mop in case. In order to access the cartridge, the faucet handle must be disassembled. Then remove the old cartridge and replace it with a new model that must be identical. We go up the handle and we test everything to verify that the leak has disappeared.
The entrance of the water
If the faucet continues to leak after changing the seal and grate. Then there is a call for water. This comes from the water inlet opening that is limestone victim. This is quite common with a disc valve. It is often difficult to act in the very mechanism of the faucet. We can try to disassemble everything if possible, after cutting the water, and let each part rest in white vinegar for several hours. The parts are rubbed with a brush to eliminate the residues. We put everything back. If the leak persists, you will have no choice but to change it.
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