How to change a tap washer - in pictures

1. You'll need an adjustable wrench and a screwdriver.

2. Turn off the isolation valve to your taps so that water won't gush all over your bathroom.
3. Put the plug in the sink. This is what wise plumbers do, because those tiny screws and bits that make up your tap are fiddly and prone to falling down the plug hole into the sewer, where only talented rats will find them useful. Photograph: Rachel Holmes

4. Pop off the lid of the tap (often the bit that says 'H' for hot or 'C' for cold).
5. There's a screw inside. Unscrew it (righty tighty, lefty loosey). Photograph: Rachel Holmes

6. Expose the cartridge. This can be quite tricky, especially if you live in a hard-water area as limescale may have built up on the cartridge. Use an adjustable spanner and brute force. Photograph: Rachel Holmes

7. Pull the cartridge out. Photograph: Rachel Holmes

8. Get in the car or on the bus to your local plumbers' merchant. Show them the cartridge and ask for a new washer to fit. There are MANY different kinds of washer and all your taps will have different ones. This will save you time, effort and money in the long run. Photograph: Rachel Holmes

9. Unscrew or pop off the washer, pop the new one in and put your tap back together.
10. Tighten it all up hand-tight, plus a quarter turn.
Top tip: As you dissemble your tap, it's clever to keep all the separate parts in the order in which they came out so that you can easily put them back again. Take a photo if you want to be super-certain. Photograph: Rachel Holmes