Will I need to buy a replacement valve or cartridge to fix this dripping Abode mixer tap?

[Robbie Rollie]

And are there better places than others to buy them to save money? I assume it's easy but I've not replaced one before. It's slowly but surely gotten worse, now around 20 drips worth of water fall at once, every couple of seconds. The hairband makes it a bit better.

 

[robinbanks]

"Will I need.."

Yes


The difference between one place and another will likely only be a few quid; not enough to be worth the hours endlessly scouring the internet. My last ones were from Amazon, maybe 13 quid for the pair. Changed the cold, 6 months later the hot was leaking, glad I'd already bought it. If it'd been a customer job I'd have likely done both

It's not a difficult job; there will likely either be a tiny grub screw, probably where you can't see at the bottom of the tap lever, that holds the lever on, or capnonnthebsidenof the lever that prises off to reveal a screw. If it's a grub screw, getting a small Allen key to fit it is possibly the bigger challenge/not something you might have in the tool kit.. once that's undone just enough to allow the lever to come off you'll be looking at a brass coloured lump part of which is a big nut. Undo it, holding the tap for extra bracing (leaning on the spanner anticlockwise will want to bend the whole tap towards you, rocker some small counterforce away from you on the centre stem to the small bolts that hold the tap to the worktop aren't taking all the force)

Fit the new cartridge and nip it up with the spanner; it doesn't need to be tightened to oblivion, as a rubber seal provides the water tightness, not the tightness of the nut

Refit the lever, remembering to make sure the valve is in the closed position before mounting the lever vertically. If you can't get the lever perfectly vertical enough for your OCD because one spline is too much and the adjacent one is not enough, nip the nut up a tiny bit more

 

[Robbie Rollie]

Thanks very much. Can you tell me anything about what the right type of cartridge will be please?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Thanks very much. Can you tell me anything about what the right type of cartridge will be please?

Turn the water off, take it out, and post a photo on here.

 

[robinbanks]

Thanks very much. Can you tell me anything about what the right type of cartridge will be please?

It looks very similar to an Abode Linear Nero, remove the cartridge and perhaps start there with your googling - "abode linear cartridge", widening to just "abode tap cartridge" if you don't succeed

Often adverts for cartridges will include a diagram with measurements you can compare with your cartridge; one that looks the same and has the same dimensions should be a fit, as several taps in a range will use the same cartridge, and it will be fairly obvious when you have them side by side (and definitely, post fitting), if they're not compatible!

Check under the sink for an isolation valve you can turn with a screwdriver so you don't have to shut off the water to the entire house.

Be wary of using the main house stopcock if it's not been used in years; they have a tendency to start leaking when operated if they haven't been regularly used