We tried and can't do it ouselves. We rang the company and they made suggestions but said the tap may be so siezed up it may be impossible. We don't want to risk paying for a plumber only to be told we need a new tap. We've pretty much decided to get a new tap and then call the plumber. It seems mixers are the way to go but our basin has three holes. How do we choose a good brand, our last replacement tap (not a cheap import) is already looking a little worrying. Don't get me started on warranties. You get the idea.

In the meantime we're wasting water. It used to be easier.

If you're wanting a good plumber, ask around at work, ask your friends, family, neighbors. If you're wanting a good brand, check epinions.com.

Several members of my family used to purchase a certain brand of pour through coffee maker. It seemed to die for them in a relatively short period of time. It was inexpensive enough that they just kept buying new ones. Repair was done through the manufacturer only and was nearly as expensive as a new one. I tore mine apart, found the nasty little component and ordered a handful of them at one dollar a piece and fixed mine repeatedly until the unit was ancient. It made me very mad to think of all the ones ending up in landfills for want of a one dollar part. I'm afraid this is become way too common. That's a green issue of large magnitude.

buy a new tap mate.

you will likely find if you do manage to disassemble the tap that the seat is flawed anyway (no quality nowadays).

cut to the chase

len

So we went shopping.

First choice of tap - really good warranty but none on display. To me it's a bit like shoes, it's got to feel right.

Second choice - really nice, really expensive, really pathetic warranty.

Third choice - now we're getting somewhere. Really nice. Half the price of second choice with a much better warranty and a good water saving rating. Catch is they have to order it from Europe and it'll take 2-3 weeks.

Fourth choice - almost as nice, same price, lesser warranty but still very good, slightly better water saving rating. It'll only take 2-3 days to come from the warehouse interstate. It took a bit longer.

And as we face the possibility of Stage 4 water restrictions I don't feel good about how long my tap has been leaking. At least it hasn't been leaking for years, like the tap in the ladies at the local mall. They finally replaced it this year after making excuses that the plumber had tried to fix it.