Mixer tap conundrum

[dilalio]

Are you familiar with the acronym PICNIC?

 

[Roger465]

Are you familiar with the acronym PICNIC?

Ha ha no, had to look it up despite over 500 years in IT before retirement. Well... that's what it felt like. How true though...

 

[Roger465]

PS so should I take the little plastic thingy out of the tap spout owing to my low pressure?

By the way, here's the monster I took out of the basin. Doesn't really show in the pic, but it's BIG

 

[dilalio]

PS so should I take the little plastic thingy out of the tap spout owing to my low pressure

That might be a diffuser or aerator that blends the hot and cold into a better stream that prevents scalding through uneven mixing of the hot and cold out of the spout.

You can try it and see how it performs.

 

[Roger465]

Just to keep everybody amused, the new mixer tap drips for a few seconds after turning off. I never did nothing to it, Your Honour - I just dropped it into the hole, connected the tails, and tightened the nut

https://www.screwfix.com/p/ideal-standard-opus-basin-mono-mixer-tap/4086j

 

[Madrab]

Yup, being a monbloc 'mix in the body' tap, the water left in the body and spout when turned off will drip out until it's empty.

 

[Roger465]

Blimey - this is normal?? Well... on the one hand it means it's not me but as luck would have it, I was in a cafe yesterday, and their sink had one - I asked the girl to turn it on and off a couple of times, and it didn't SEEM to drip

 

[Madrab]

Depends on the design of the tap, some do some don't. If yours drips then stops and is then dry then it's not the valve/cartridge, rather water in the tap body dripping out.

 

[Roger465]

OK Rob, thanks as always for your helpful advice

 

[Roger465]

And this is why people like me come on here and ask what must seem very simple questions… just discovered that the waste/trap under my bathroom hand basin, which I replaced a month or two ago, is leaking.

I mean, you wouldn't think it rocket science, would you… make sure everything’s clean and smooth, put a rubber seal in, tighten firmly but not excessively, and it just shouldn't leak. And it hasn’t, for weeks; now it is.

I tried tightening it a little (fingers only), but that seems to have made it worse.

It appears to be leaking from the top somewhere – can’t be absolutely certain where, but I guess where that Basin Mate thing contacts the underside of the sink.

I hate the very idea, but is it time to give up and just plaster silicone everywhere?

 

[dilalio]

This is exactly why I still use plumbers mait

 

[bernardgreen]

put a rubber seal in, tighten firmly but not excessively, and it just shouldn't leak.

Often the rubber seal supplied is not large or thick enough to seal against the un-even surface of the basin, so a larger ( DIY homemade ) seal is needed

 

[denso13]

This is exactly why I still use plumbers mait

Me too....

 

[Roger465]

I had hoped this thing would make sealant unnecessary. And the really galling thing is that it's all been fine for what, 6 weeks maybe?

All I use the sink for is a quick brush of the teeth and a shave - it's not subjected to any unusual treatment, and I don't tip hydrochloric acid down the waste or anything

Suppose I'd better investigate this Plumber's Mait stuff...

 

[Roger465]

Often the rubber seal supplied is not large or thick enough to seal against the un-even surface of the basin, so a larger ( DIY homemade ) seal is needed

View attachment 172141

Thanks for the pic - yes, that was explained to me before, and I was advised to use one of these things - and, in fairness, everything stayed dry for 6 weeks - then it just started to leak.

So I'm going to dry everything out tonight on the radiator, then use Plumber's Mait tomorrow. Would you just put it on the top (tapered) surface of the rubber cone, or a bit on the threads where the cone pushes over them too?

PS I used to live in a 364-year-old cottage in Gloucestershire - a positive new build compared with yours... but at least I have straight walls now!