bathroom cold water tap problem

[chrisw99]

I have just got back from a weeks holiday, and the cold water tap on the bathroom sink is acting strangely.

When I turn it on, nothing happens for about 5 seconds, then it starts to trickle, gradually getting to full flow after about 10 seconds.
If I then turn it off and turn it on straight away it's fine, but if I leave it off any longer than a minute or so, it will do the same again.
Very occasionally I turn it on and it's full for about a second, then drops off before going back to a trickle and then back to full.

I don't have a cold water tank, all cold taps are mains fed. Normally this tap only needed a single turn to be on quite fast, and turning on full gushed out far too fast and splashed everywhere. No other cold taps in the house seem to be affected, although the main bath tap may be slightly lower pressure than normal.

Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?

 

[dontknowitall]

I'd start by changing the washer. The present one might have dislodged itself and be bouncing up and down on the water pressure.

 

[royston]

If all other taps are fine then its got to be related to that tap. Strip it down and investigate.

 

[kay-jay]

put my money on it being a washer problem!

 

[chrisw99]

Thanks for the advice. I started to strip it down, and a load of greeny grey gunk came out when I started unscrewing the tap body. Loads of the stuff.

Washed all that away, and the tap is fine again.

 

[dontknowitall]

Excellent and thanks for the feedback.

 

[chrisw99]

One extra thing though while I'm on... I removed the little cover to reveal the screw, and took out the screw. But the turning bit of the tap would not lift off at all. I pulled as hard as I could.

It was only loosening the metal cover around the body that the gunk came out, but without being able to take the top bit off I couldn't get to the actual mechanism inside to see the washer, etc.

 

[dontknowitall]

The shroud can be difficult to remove without damaging the chrome surface. It twists off. Underneath this you'll see a hexagonal shaped part which houses the main internal body of the tap and the washer is at the bottom of this.

(You could try undoing a different tap e.g. basin to see if this helps you understand the bath tap better.)

 

[chrisw99]

The shroud can be difficult to remove without damaging the chrome surface. It twists off. Underneath this you'll see a hexagonal shaped part which houses the main internal body of the tap and the washer is at the bottom of this.

(You could try undoing a different tap e.g. basin to see if this helps you understand the bath tap better.)

The shroud loosened fine, if it's the bit I think you're referring to. It was that bit that all the gunk came out of when I loosened it.

It's the actual tap bit at the top that you turn on the water with I couldn't remove, I removed the cap covering the screw and then the screw and normally that bit just then pulls/lifts off, but on this tap I couldn't find a way to remove it.

 

[dontknowitall]

If you can remove the brass insides of the tap you don't have to remove the top part (and sometimes they're impossible to remove as you've found out!)

 

[kay-jay]

they just need some persuasion. i sometimes tap from beneath with the handle of my wrench that is rubber coated. sometimes comes loose if you put a bit of wd40 on and leave it a few mins
actually had a tough one today and was pulling and pulling on it then it came loose and i nearly crowned my self with it

KJ

 

[Kimou]

Laco Rustbuster. Best stuff I ever used. Designed for the US Navy for sea hardened bolts under water level. Pongs a bit though.

 

[WHPES]

If you have a small bearing puller this can be used to extract the tap top from the spindle

 

[kay-jay]

If you have a small bearing puller this can be used to extract the tap top from the spindle

well stone the crows! give this man a cigar....at last a use for the olive puller has been discovered. (i knew there had to be one):yesnod:

 

[PlumbBobBob]

bearing puller kay-jay it's different to olive puller. google it lol

 

[kay-jay]

oops thats what happens when you post while drunk lol

 

[WHPES]

Oil engineers have bearing pullers in their toolkit but I guess gas guys might not.