Everyday plumbing
The tap that has dripped since the summer, the cistern running non-stop, the sink that takes ten minutes to empty.
Three families of faults
The first covers everything replaced like for like: kitchen or basin mixer, washing machine valve, shower hose and head, shower column. The job is short when the supplies are reachable and the connectors are not seized; it stretches considerably on an old installation where the nut has fused to the pipe — Toulouse water is hard, and twenty years under a sink leaves its mark.
The second concerns leaks and constant flow: tap seals, a cracked or loose trap, a waste plug that no longer holds, a cistern mechanism running into the pan. A cistern leaking continuously can waste hundreds of litres a day without anything showing: it is usually the water bill that raises the alarm before anyone hears it.
The third is unblocking: sinks, basins, shower trays, baths. The trap is removed and cleaned and the waste pipe is rodded along the accessible section. If the blockage lies beyond — a shared stack, a buried drain, a building network — work stops and the job passes to a firm equipped for high-pressure jetting. As with electrics, anything involving new pipework, gas or central heating is outside the scope.
Plumbing: worth knowing
How do I know whether the leak is the seal or the tap?
A trickle at the spout that continues with the tap closed usually points to the cartridge or the head seal. Damp under the unit, on the other hand, comes from a connector or the trap. Photograph the installation, including everything under the sink: in eight cases out of ten those pictures identify the part to bring.
Does chemical drain cleaner solve the problem?
Rarely for long, and it complicates what follows: the product sits in the trap, attacks certain seals and makes dismantling unpleasant. On a kitchen waste clogged with grease, cleaning the trap mechanically gives a far better result. If you have already poured some in, say so before the visit.
Does the water have to be shut off for the whole flat?
Not always. Many installations have isolating valves under the sink or near the water heater, which allows work without cutting off the rest of the home. Where those valves are missing or seized — common in older buildings — the main supply has to go off, in principle for under an hour.
Describe the leak
Where, since when, constant or only when the tap is open: those three answers already point to the right part.