How to fix a leaking tap - but not leaking in the usual place

Around 4 years ago I installed a Swirl Magellan Bath Shower Mixer Tap onto a bath. This tap looks something similar to the following in terms of the design:


Separate hot and cold taps, with pull up to divert water to the shower head. The underneath of the tap and the tap heads actually look like this (which doesn't show the mixer version):


So, the connections fit down two holes cut in the bath. Between the tap and the bath is a white foam gasket, which covers the complete underside of the tap. Where the black plastic nuts fit, there is a flimsy plastic washer.

The supply pipes and waste are all water tight, however, when the shower attachment is turned on, any water running onto and around the tap is somehow leaking out between the white foam gasket and the black plastic nuts and dripping underneath the bath. I'm not sure how long this has been happening, but it definitely didn't happen when the tap was first installed. The black plastic nuts are more than finger tight and I had to loosen them using a spanner, so it's not as though the tap has come loose!

What is the best way to prevent this leak of water under the tap fitting and through the holes in the bath?

There’s no images to view, however from the sounds of it, water is getting between the foam gasket and bath/holes. An option might be to obtain another gasket, preferably rubber like this:https://www.bathroomspareparts.co.u...MIvPvRqpP95gIVgYxRCh2iFQPnEAQYBCABEgJaxPD_BwE, just depends on whether it would be the correct size, failing that use some plumbers mait around the underneath of the tap and bath, refit and remove any excess.

take the tap off throw away the foam gasket and put a good slavering of mould resistant silicon under the tap. refit bolt the tap down and wipe any extruded silicon off making a nice bead around the tap, allow silicon to cure and that should do the trick

The Novice said:

There’s no images to view, however from the sounds of it, water is getting between the foam gasket and bath/holes. An option might be to obtain another gasket, preferably rubber like this:https://www.bathroomspareparts.co.u...MIvPvRqpP95gIVgYxRCh2iFQPnEAQYBCABEgJaxPD_BwE, just depends on whether it would be the correct size, failing that use some plumbers mait around the underneath of the tap and bath, refit and remove any excess.

Click to expand...

Yes, getting the right size might be an issue. Do these gaskets compress and loose their shape and have to eventually be replaced (like mine)?

hi1 said:

take the tap off throw away the foam gasket and put a good slavering of mould resistant silicon under the tap. refit bolt the tap down and wipe any extruded silicon off making a nice bead around the tap, allow silicon to cure and that should do the trick

Click to expand...

That was my first thought to fix the issue. I suppose silicon only needs to be run around the two bath holes rather than around the edge of the tap body, but it will cause the tap to sit slightly higher due to the thickness of the silicon? My only concern about using a "lot" of silicon is how difficult it might be to remove the tap when it needs to be changed!

PS. I have replaced the linked images with gallery images so hopefully they can be seen now.

The tap will come off just fine if it needs to replaced - but lose those bloody awful plastic back nuts and fit brass ones......that'll pull the tap down tight.
John

Burnerman said:

The tap will come off just fine if it needs to replaced - but lose those bloody awful plastic back nuts and fit brass ones......that'll pull the tap down tight.
John

Click to expand...

I know what you mean, but they were surprisingly tight. I had to use an adjustable spanner to loosen them up and given the lack of space between the bath and the wall, the furthest nut was a pain to reach and undue.

Also, I haven't disconnected the flexible hoses from the taps, just loosened up the plastic nuts so I could lift the tap away from the bath. Given the difficulty in reaching the furthest tap connection I want to avoid this if possible and I would obviously need to disconnect the taps to replace the nuts.

Yes, I understand the problem - we've all been there!
Plastic nuts maybe OK if the tap base and the bath are perfectly flat, but whoever proposed them must have been an imbecile.
Various basin wrenches are available for releasing pipe connectors - they all work to some degree, some better than others.
Good luck with your project, I hope it goes well.
John

I'd also go with some plumbers mait to bed the taps down.

I expect the leak has been fixed some time in the last 20 months since the last post to this thread.