1930's Tap leaking from top

[Niscars]

Hi,

Received a phone call from Mother-in-law last night about the hot tap on her bath. When off - no problem. When the tap is turned on it runs fine but water also leaks from the top of the tap where the spindle passes through the outer chrome cover.

Silicone grease ? New washer ? New tap ?

What do you think ? Assistance welcome as I am going round tonight to try and fix !

Thanks, Oscar

 

[chrishutt]

You may just need to tighten the gland nut around the spindle, but if this doesn't work you may need to add to the packing inside. PTFE tape wound in a clockwise direction is probably easiest to apply, although traditionally this would have been done with string (use with silicone grease). Basically anything that works.

If the taps are really that old, it might be better to replace them if you're up to it. Access to the taps under the bath can be extremely difficult. Another option is to replace just the headgear of the old taps. This is much easier since it can be done entirely from above. Special kits are made for this.

 

[Niscars]

Many thanks Chris. I'll give it a whirl tonight.

 

[ChrisR]

Them kits fit taps to BS this and that, but I've found a number of olde taps which while nominally the standard sizes, had threads cut by completely worn out tools, so nothing actually fits.

 

[Niscars]

Fixed The tap wasn't as old as expected and the problem was that the inside of the tap had come loose and the whole thing was unscrewing when the tap was turned on and off. Just screwed the thing back down tight - job done in about two minutes