It’s really the last thing you want when you wake up at 4am and hit the bathroom for a quick drink of water: a spluttering, chugging tap that seems loud enough to wake the neighbours. But, in older houses where there’s a header tank in the loft, spitting taps are all too common. If you’ve had any work done on your plumbing and there’s not quite enough pressure to push an airlock out, then you already know how irritating it can be. Luckily, if you can attach a garden hose, you can try this quick fix.

Time to complete the job: 15 mins

Step 1: Connect the hose

Hook one end of the hose up to the garden or kitchen tap. These taps are the closest to the mains, so should provide enough pressure to do the job properly.

Connect the other end of the hose to the spluttering tap. Double-check the connections to make sure they’re tight.

Step 2: Turn on the waterff

Turn on the tap that needs to be fixed. Then, have someone turn on the water at the other end. In a few moments you should be able to see the water coming up through the hose.

Step 3: Turn off the taps

Let the water run about 10-30 seconds.The pressure from the garden hose will push water up through the system to the header tank, taking the airlock with it.

Turn off the (no longer) spluttering tap. Turn off the water at the other end. Try out your splutter-free sink.

source: uktv.co.uk