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 Leaking wall tap to toilet - how to fix?

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TScontestchris
post Nov 22 2024, 03:26 PM, updated 2y ago

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Yesterday, my toilet could no longer flush and the water pressure from the taps in my home was low. Reported to management office, they sent a technician. He did some checks, and in the process in turned off and turned on a wall tap in one of the bathrooms. Later he confirmed someone had turned off the water supply for my entire floor due to some issue with the piping and that it would be resolved soon. Eventually, later that evening everything was fine.

Except it wasn’t. I didn’t realize it immediately, but now, this tap is leaking. It’s very small amount, but it is a continuous leak. We’ve never touched it in all the years we’ve lived here. All the technician did is turn it off and then back on. He didn’t touch anything else in my home and I was with him at all times.

How do I fix this leak? It is leaking with water seeping out from where the tap is protruding out of the wall. I am certain this happened after this incident and the leak was not present before that because the toilet is a dry toilet but now there is a puddle there.

How big or small of a job is this? I don’t feel comfortable letting it just be, for fear of damaging the inside of the toilet walls etc. Your assistance is much appreciated.

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This post has been edited by contestchris: Nov 22 2024, 03:35 PM
TScontestchris
post Nov 22 2024, 03:31 PM

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QUOTE(jaycee1 @ Nov 22 2024, 03:29 PM)
This no way about it. Have to hack the tiles and change the stopcock.

Happen to my unit also.
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How much did it cost you?
TScontestchris
post Nov 22 2024, 03:34 PM

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QUOTE(jaycee1 @ Nov 22 2024, 03:29 PM)
This no way about it. Have to hack the tiles and change the stopcock.

Happen to my unit also.
*
Can't just tighten the nut or something? Memang must hack the tile?
TScontestchris
post Nov 22 2024, 04:23 PM

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QUOTE(mushigen @ Nov 22 2024, 03:59 PM)
You can either:

1) open it back to maximum open

2) replace the cartridge or rubber component inside the tap (first, you need to close the supply to your unit at water meter side).
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What does open it back to maximum open do?
TScontestchris
post Nov 22 2024, 04:51 PM

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QUOTE(jerm57 @ Nov 22 2024, 04:44 PM)
Haih... oldschool style of plumbing. All the important parts buried in the wall so simple task of changing the rubber seal also becomes nearly 1k to fix. Sometimes open the tap to max may stop the leak. Just try it first before doing anything else.
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I will try it later when I get home.

FYI, when the tap was fully turned off, it doesn't leak at all. Must try if it is fully opened.

This post has been edited by contestchris: Nov 22 2024, 04:51 PM
TScontestchris
post Nov 22 2024, 07:39 PM

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QUOTE(mushigen @ Nov 22 2024, 04:29 PM)
May stop the leak, if leak is from the stem. Your photo is not clear so can't see leaking from where.
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Damn dude, your suggestion maybe just saved me a few hundred bucks.

I opened to the maximum (stopped applying force once I hit the resistance)...and voila, no more leaking!

But then to be sure, I flushed and stuck around for a few minutes.

Now here's what I found. Every 12 to 13 seconds, there is exactly one drop of water leaking out.

Is this something to be concerned about? If it's just one drop of water every 12 to 13 secs, I can't be sure if I would have noticed before or not...it doesn't leave any puddle.

--------------

According to Google, 1 drop of water is 0.05ml. If there are 5 drops in a minute, that means there are 216,000 drops of water in a month, equivalent to around 10.8l. From a cost perspective, I think it's negligible if that much water leaks from the stopcock. But is it damaging anything?

This post has been edited by contestchris: Nov 22 2024, 07:42 PM
TScontestchris
post Nov 22 2024, 08:13 PM

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QUOTE(mushigen @ Nov 22 2024, 07:55 PM)
I'd just monitor for a while. Sometimes it may stop leaking as rust or dirt builds up. The problem with leaks, imo, is they cause corrosion over long term. Anyway I don't think it's a big issue as it's your bathroom water supply, not to your house where it's troublesome to have water leaking and long downtime.

Alternatively, I would keep trying to open and close and hopefully ngam2 kena the point where the leak stops.

Edit: can try to apply a bit of force to full open it. Hopefully it'll stop the leak.
*
Would playing around by opening/closing worsen the situation?

Similarly, would applying a bit more force cause anything to break or become worse?
TScontestchris
post Nov 22 2024, 10:24 PM

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QUOTE(mushigen @ Nov 22 2024, 09:57 PM)
Are you able to tighten the nut? If not, I'd just use slightly more force to full open the tap. Hopefully it stops leaking.

Don't have to use too much force. You'll reach a point where it is already full open, then agak2 use a little more force can already (hand tight).
*
Okay I just got home again and checked the leaking now.

I measured with my phone, 5 leaks interval. The interval for each drop of water to leak out is now around 1min 10s to 1min 15s consistently. The leak is forming very, very slowly. Earlier this evening, it was 12s for each water drop to drop out. Even when the water drops out, it moves very slowly, seems like the droplet size might also be slightly smaller than earlier this evening. In the evening, as soon as one droplet falls down, I can see another forming. But now, I have to wait around 30s before I can see the next droplet forming.

I've not playing around with the tap head, nor tightened it for now yet.

Is this a good sign?

This post has been edited by contestchris: Nov 22 2024, 10:25 PM
TScontestchris
post Nov 23 2024, 11:20 AM

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QUOTE(mushigen @ Nov 22 2024, 10:56 PM)
I'd just give it a bit of twist anti-clockwise.
*
I did this (tightened it just a tiny bit) last night before sleeping, and it made things worse. Then I went back to your previous post:

QUOTE(mushigen @ Nov 22 2024, 07:55 PM)
I'd just monitor for a while. Sometimes it may stop leaking as rust or dirt builds up. The problem with leaks, imo, is they cause corrosion over long term. Anyway I don't think it's a big issue as it's your bathroom water supply, not to your house where it's troublesome to have water leaking and long downtime.

Alternatively, I would keep trying to open and close and hopefully ngam2 kena the point where the leak stops.

Edit: can try to apply a bit of force to full open it. Hopefully it'll stop the leak.
*
I turned back clockwise a bit (loosened it slightly), and voila, I found the sweet spot. No more leaks. To be sure, I waited until today morning. Toilet is back to being done dry, no reflective sign of water anywhere on the tiles and grout. I sat there for 5 minutes just to make sure there is no slow-forming droplet leaking out - there is none!

So problem solved!

PS: Screw the bloody technician for playing with the stopcock and then refusing to come back to my unit to right the issue.

This post has been edited by contestchris: Nov 23 2024, 11:23 AM

 

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