That little thing that says ‘Hot’ or ‘Cold’ on my tap has broken!

Is your tap looking a bit past its best as the bit on top that says hot or cold has broken? Maybe it has worn out or fallen off and lost.

If this has happened, please don’t worry. They are known in industry as indices or indicators and can be changed easily – you don’t need to be a plumber or turn off the water to replace it.

There are 2 main types of indices; screw in indices which are in a metal ring that screw into the tap handle and push in ones.

To replace the screw in indices, simply unscrew the metal ring anti clockwise and then measure the size of the ring and thread – you will then be able to find a match by looking at the sizes available on our tap spares page. It may be a bit of a struggle if the ring is tight due to limescale and if this is the case use a pair of grips or flat sided pliers but use a soft cloth between the face of the tool and the tap to prevent marking or damage.

If the indices is a push in type, carefully use a thin screw driver or blade to prise it away.

Once removed, look at our spare indices page and hopefully you should be able to identify a match.

Some taps, particularly single lever taps will have a simple indices that pushes into the lever and is often a cover over the small grub screw that secures the lever on the cartridge. These will always be simple small push in types and are fairly standard. You can see an example here:

Remember that if you can’t find a replacement indices, the next best option is to buy a replacement handle or lever – this will still make your tap look like new at a fraction of the cost and without the disruption of replacing the tap.