Whether you have just moved into a new house, or have been in your current home for several years, you may be thinking of making some changes to your property. Maybe some new wallpaper, paint or carpets. How about new taps in the kitchen or bathroom?
If you have ever replaced any of the taps in your home, you will probably be aware that they are not the cheapest of things to buy. Despite this fact, so many of us simply throw out the old ones, even though they may work perfectly well.
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Believe it not, you can get very good money for your old taps if you spend a little time and effort. For instance, next time you go to a car boot sale, keep your eyes peeled and you will usually see somebody selling taps. Now, it will rarely be somebody who is simply selling their old taps. In most cases the person selling them will have a whole range of second hand taps on offer.
You may be wondering where they got so many taps from. There is normally a clue hidden for the eagle eyed among you such as a builder's or plumber's van which they packed their wares in to sell to the Sunday morning boot sale crowd. Yes, these people selling taps are quite often builders or plumbers who have installed new taps for customers and taken the old ones away at their customers' request. Little did these people know that they were literally throwing money away, along with their taps.
Even though used, taps that are in working order can easily fetch half of their retail cost when sold second hand. With new taps costing upwards of £50 it is easy to see why your old taps have value. In rarer cases, older period taps can even be worth more than new ones. A good example of this would be the old brass taps from a cast iron bath. Once cleaned up and fitted with new washers etc. somebody with a period home would be more than willing to pay very well for an authentic addition to their home.
There are even more people with average homes who simply cannot warrant paying a large amount for brand new taps, when they can get the look they want and refresh their home interior for a fraction of the price second hand. Think about it, why would you go and spend over twice as much for something when you could achieve the same result for a fraction of the price?
A word of warning before you go rushing out to buy your next set of taps from a boot sale though. It is always beneficial to check the taps thoroughly and perhaps replace the inner workings such as washers etc. before you install them. Or if you are not sure how to do this, simply pay a visit to your local plumbers' merchant who will be happy to point you in the right direction.
So, next time you change the taps in your home, don't just throw them in the bin. As the saying goes, one man's rubbish is another man's treasure.