Fixing Loose Kitchen Taps

Fixing Loose Kitchen Taps - Intro

If you have loose kitchen taps then you can follow the below instructions to tighten them up. Obviously anyone can tighten up a nut, but under a sink the nut is often hard to get too / hard to reach. But with a few tools you can do it you self.

A nut too far.

Fixing Loose Kitchen Taps - Tools

You will need:

1. Ordinary / Plain Screwdriver (Flat Head)
2. Hacksaw
3. Pliers or Vice
4. Socket set (11mm socket - may vary).

Fixing Loose Kitchen Taps - Method

Snug up up brass nut using your fingers, this should be possible in all but the tightest spots. Also check that the threaded  bar, is snugged up. When the nut and the bar are finger tight, remove thme together by unscrewing the threaded bar from the base of the tap, DO NOT LET THE BRASS NUT MOVE.

ordinary screwdriver slot at base of thread

Once you have removed the bar and the nut you will be looking like something in the diagram below.

As you can see there is a lot of spare threaded bar sticking out which stops you getting a socket on the nut. We need to reduce the amount of bar that protrudes.

Measure the thread that was poking out on the upper end of the bar (say 42mm in my case). Move the nut down the bar until it is flush / parralel with the end that has the screwdriver slots. Then cut the threaded bar so you get back to your original measurement (mine was 42mm).

You can now use a scredriver to screw the threaded bar back in to the base of the tap until tight, and then tighten the nut using a standard socket set.

The nut is brass so you will have to be a bit carefull not to overtighten.

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