Buying
The relationship between what a bathroom part costs and what it fixes is unusually weak, and it runs in both directions. These are the purchases that undo a complaint people were about to answer with a new tap, a new shower or a plumber.
Five parts, each of which answers a complaint that usually gets an expensive answer.
The COOLUCK aerator set. Unscrew the old one, look at the mesh, and either soak it or replace it. Measure the old one before ordering: male and female threads of the same nominal size are different parts.
The Kirchhoff trap. The fix is depth: 50 mm of water seal is the European reference, and slimline traps buy their compactness partly out of it. In a bathroom used rarely, that difference is the smell.
The Ibergrif angle valves. Two of them under the basin, and the mains stops being involved in anything.
The Ibergrif shower hose — and before replacing it at all, try the cone seal inside the nut, which costs almost nothing and is the actual fault about half the time.
The Mannesmann water pump pliers. One rule with them: serrated jaws mark chrome permanently, so a cloth goes round anything visible.
A substitute for a fitting that has genuinely failed. They are the cheap explanations, tested first because they are cheap — not because they are always right.
Aerator · M24 · chromed brass body, 304 stainless filter mesh · 12–15 l/min stated without a reference pressure · ten supplied with ten seals and a key
A ten-pack with the fitting key included — the sensible way to do every tap in a house in one afternoon.
Best for: Renewing every aerator in a house at once, where full flow matters more than a saving.
≈ 9 €
Trap · stainless steel, chrome · 1¼ in connection stated · opens for cleaning · complete set with wall rosette
A seven-euro stainless trap supplied with the wall rosette — the small chrome disc that everyone forgets and that makes the pipe look finished.
Best for: A visible trap under a wall-hung basin, where it will be looked at and the budget is small.
≈ £9 / 8 €
Angle valve · 1/2 in wall connection · 3/8 in hose outlet · DIN standard · chromed brass · rotary handle
The plain, correct angle valve: both threads stated, brass body, and the DIN standard named — which is all this part has to be.
Best for: A standard basin or kitchen tap replacement on 1/2 in wall connections, which is almost all of them.
≈ £5 / 6 €
Shower hose · 1.7 m · chromed stainless over a BPA-free inner · G 1/2 universal · solid brass connectors · seals supplied
A long stainless hose with brass connectors rather than plated plastic — which is where a cheap shower hose actually fails.
Best for: A bath used for showering and rinsing out, where the extra length is genuinely used.
≈ £7 / 7 €
Water pump pliers · 250 mm (10 in) · 0.37 kg · through-going joint · adjustable jaw opening · non-slip painted handles
The cheapest tool in this catalogue, and it still has the joint construction that matters — through-going rather than lapped.
Best for: A toolbox that needs a pair of pliers for the rare occasion, at a price where losing them does not matter.
≈ 3 €
When one tap is weak and the others are fine, it usually is. The screen collects limescale and grit, it unscrews, and it either cleans in descaler or costs a couple of euros to replace.
The trap holds a plug of water that blocks drain air. A shallow seal in a bathroom used twice a week evaporates, and the smell is the missing barrier rather than a deposit — which is why nothing poured in will fix it.
Then you have spent a few euros and eliminated the cheap explanation, which is worth doing before spending eighty. Each of these is also a part you will need eventually.
Stopping a drip. It costs a washer or a cartridge and it stops water running continuously.
Descale the head, and the hose too. It is the cause in most cases and costs almost nothing.
New sealant and clean grout. At this price nothing else comes close for visual improvement.
No. Redoing the job is the real cost, so a slightly better product is one of the few genuine upgrades here.
Cleaning the waste is free and effective. Air freshener hides a signal that something is open to the drain.
Very few. A hook where you need one and a shelf sized to what you own are worth more than anything clever.
Taps, shower systems and mirror cabinets swing by fifty euros or more across the year, and the biggest "discounts" often land at prices the same model sold for six weeks earlier. UniverTrack tracks the real price history across retailers, spots fake reductions, and alerts you when it is genuinely the moment to buy.
