kitchen tap runs when shower is on upstairs

[jorton]

Hi,

When the kitchen tap is off downstairs and someone starts to run water upstairs the kitchen tap sparks into life and starts to dribble. We have a Worcester combi boiler.

Is there anything I can do to resolve this, its only just started to happen and is really annoying.

Any help really appreciated

 

[rjm2k]

Try changing the washer in the tap.

 

[Madrab]

Is it a screw down tap or a quarter turn?

 

[jorton]

Thanks for the replies,

didn't event think of the washers.

Its a mixer tap

 

[Madrab]

Yeah but is it a ceramic (1/4 turn) or a standard (screw down washer) mixer tap? Is it when the hot or cold is turned on?

 

[jorton]

hi madrab,

Quick google search and I would say that its the ceramic tap. Its happens most when the shower is on so I would have to say its the hot water

Thanks

 

[Tipper]

Does this only happen when your run the hot upstairs?

Sounds like you have unbalanced hot and cold water but if you have a combi boiler then I can't see why unless the cold is still fed from a tank?

 

[Blagard]

To be honest, any water coming out of the kitchen tap when it is off is an indication of a fault in the tap, although why it should only happen when something else is turned on is weird!.

With a ceramic disc tap in a hard water area you could try removing the cartridge and soaking it in a descaler. But most likely you should just replace the cartridge.

Depending on tap design either you have a mixer cartridge (i.e. just one control for hot and cold) or a pair of tap cartridges (i.e. separate hot and cold controls on the mixer). With separate cartridges it could be difficult to identify which is at fault.