Bathroom taps turn themselves on

[DextersMistress]

Rented house, been here just over a year. 5 or 6 times I've gone upstairs to find the hot tap running. Definitely hasn't been left on, twice last week I went up to discover the hot tap in the sink had been running for a while (room full of steam) could've been hours!
Just now I heard water and went up to see the shower running (it's connected to the bath tap)

What could cause this?

Poltergeist?

Sorry nothing helpful to add!

I'm starting to wonder!

Last week I noticed the radiator in the living room was cold despite the heating being on. Went up to find the tap on, so turned it off then the radiator got hot again [sceptical]

even!

Was going to suggest a ghost too .

Maybe there's a nut loose or broken in the tap handle? Take the top off and see. Or tell the LL

Fuck that shit I'd leg it out the house

Both hot taps do it though

Maybe the hotness of the water has broken nuts in both the hot taps? can you tell I'm not a DIY kinda person

All failing, get a priest in.

all failing, get a priest in spat my tea out at that!

Gah! Def a ghost. Sorry.

Somebody living in your loft that you don't know about?

/helpful

Sounds like some kind of waterry-pressury sort of thing. Water makes the air in the tap expand which forces the tap on? I reckon there's just air in the system.

Get the radiators bled and the hot water system repressurised. Replace washer in taps so they're stronger (and cross your fingers it's not chuffing ceramic discs.)

I'm sure it must be a loose tap or perhaps vibration - a nearby road? Causing them to move slightly enough to fall to on.

Please don't turn it into one of those threads that'll make me check for peep holes in the ceiling
There has to be a reasonable explanation. Did I mention they're on full?

That should have said the water makes the air WARMER, which makes it expand.

Get a dude out to check the taps aren't faulty.

Then get a priest

Bled radiators not long ago, will check washers etc.
They're old fashioned taps though, don't turn easily. My 4yo can't turn them on.

I second water pressure. If the water system is being used elsewhere when the tap/ shower is turned till water stops flowing, it will appear off. If the other tap is then turned off the pressure in the system increases and the not quite off tap becomes weakest link and so water flows.

Quick test...turn on one tap - quite high flow, turn on another. Turn one of other till it appears off, turn other tap off, is the first tap turned off now dribling?

Oh oh me me me! I've seen this on a ghost investigatin and know exactly what it is.

Your tap nuts and things are loose, a very small amount of water gets through somewhere and builds up to gush them on. They proved it on this programme - looked into it, fixed em and it stopped.

There you have NO poltergeist.

Are the taps actually turning? Can you mark the position of the "closed" tap and check? That way you'd at least know if it's an internal / washer type problem or a poltergeist tap problem.

Oh thank goodness, be gone people of woo

I'm certain it's not because of another tap running as there was only me and dc here. (All in the bathroom getting ready, taps turned off, come home from nursery run and taps on)

andsmile for you.

Cupcakes the tap is turned until tight when off, then somehow is running and has to be turned again, usually about half a full turn if that makes sense. Not sure how I could mark it to find out...

This type

Also, if you turn the hot tap off before the cold tap then, often, the hot tap hasn't closed properly. You turn the cold tap off and the pressure in the system turns the hot back on. That happens to my taps so we always turn the cold off first.

Get a small flat screw driver and flip the bit off the top that says hot/ cold.

Theres probably a little screw showing now thats holding the tap head on.

Undo the screw, put it somewhere safe!

Remove the tap head. The tap valve top will be metal and poking up probably with grooves around it/ possible two straight sides. Inside the head there will be a mating part also grooved/ straight sided. Quite often these grooves or square sides wear/ the odd one breaks so even though you're turning the tap head its not turning the valve.

Does it all look groovy?

^^ turn the water off first