Answers
One question, one straight answer
52 questions, each on its own page, each answered in a few hundred words rather than buried at the bottom of a listicle. Where the honest answer is "the maker publishes a number that is not measured to any standard", it says so.
Choosing
How each family differs, what to change first, and what the wording on the box actually means.
Fit & dimensions
Centre distance, tap hole diameter, hinge hole spacing, thread sizes and build height — the measurements that decide whether anything fits.
Flow & pressure
Why a flow rate means nothing without the pressure beside it, what a restrictor does, and what a thermostatic cartridge needs to regulate at all.
Temperature & the rules
What the 38 °C stop is and is not, what a mixer does when the cold supply drops, and where the manufacturer’s instructions take over.
Materials & finishes
Brass, zamak and stainless steel under the same chrome; what matt black and brushed finishes do in hard water.
Water & limescale
Hardness, what a softener treats and what it does not, and what a filter manufacturer actually declares.
Drainage & odours
Water seal depth, why a rarely used bathroom smells, slotted against unslotted wastes, and what blocks a basin.
Toilets & flushing
Why a cistern runs, which valve is at fault, seat measurements, and what a bidet seat needs behind it.
Showers & drains
Head size against pressure, riser heights, what a linear channel needs under the floor, and drainage rates.
Mirrors & storage
IP ratings and bathroom zones, colour temperature, demisting, and what a wall has to hold.
Installation
Isolating, connecting, tightening and sealing — described and linked to its source, never a substitute for the manual.
Maintenance
Descaling an aerator, changing a cartridge, replacing a seal, and what strips a finish rather than cleaning it.
When it goes wrong
A dripping tap, weak pressure, a running cistern, a smell with no leak — causes in the order worth checking.