Hi! My upstairs bathroom sink hot water tap has stopped working with no water at all flowing. I don't think that its the water pressure as the other 3 taps in the bathroom are fine ...any ideas?

On Tue, 3 Jan 2006 23:28:28 +0000, MODERN LASS wrote:

Hi! My upstairs bathroom sink hot water tap has stopped working with no
water at all flowing. I don't think that its the water pressure as the
other 3 taps in the bathroom are fine ...any ideas?

Depends on the make/quality of the tap, some have a washer mount that
floats free in the bottom of the handle screw (the bit that turns the tap
on and off), others have a washer mount that is captive in the bottom of
the screw.

The free-floating ones rely on water pressure lifting the washer, the
captive type lift the washer as you turn on the tap.

I'm guessing that you have a tap where the mount floats freely, and the
washer has stuck to the seating, probably through being turned off rather
tightly, so when you turn on the tap the washer mount doesn't lift into the
bottom of the handle screw.

Two or three *gentle* taps - try the handle of a large screwdriver - on the
side of the tap might be sufficient to release the washer, otherwise it's
turn off the hot water and take the top off the tap. And if you need to go
that far, it's worth changing the washer anyway, unless the tap is newly
fitted.


--
the dot wanderer at tesco dot net

About to get on the case - Thanks a million for the advice!

In article , MODERN LASS
wrote:

Hi! My upstairs bathroom sink hot water tap has stopped working with no
water at all flowing. I don't think that its the water pressure as the
other 3 taps in the bathroom are fine ...any ideas?

Does the tap handle still turn through the full amount? I've come across
a couple of cases where the combination of a worn washer and excessive
force when turning the tap off has forced the central spindle beyond the
end of it's guide. The spindle had then rotated slightly and, being
hexagonal, wouldn't go back up inside the matching guide. There was
still enough flexibility and free play in the screw thread for the
handle to turn through about one turn before things jammed up but not
enough to lift the washer off the seat.

The cure was to remove the tap from it's base and then keep turning the
tap handle clockwise beyond the normal off state to detach the washer
and it's carrier completely then carefully align it's hexagon with the
hole and screw it back in by turning the tap knob clockwise while firmly
holding the washer carrier to stop it rotating. Best to fit a new washer
while you're at it too.

--
Mike Clarke

Thanks for the advice. took the top off the tap and before anything, filled it with limescale remover...24 hours later - running water!