Mixer Repair
To imagine a modern bathroom without a mixer is quite difficult. The faucet is an indispensable attribute of the bathroom, where cold and hot water supply is supplied. thanks to it, it is possible to control the temperature and pressure of the water flowing from the tap. In addition, the device is equipped with a switch for redirecting water to the shower. Like any mechanical design, the mixer periodically fails. It is arranged quite simply, so in most cases the mixer can be repaired by itself. In this article, we consider the breakdowns that occur most often, find out the causes and solutions.
to contents ↑Mixer classification
There are three types of faucets that can be used in the bathroom in one way or another:
- Sensory. The control unit of the touch device is a photocell that sends a command to turn the device on / off. The structure of the sensor device is quite complex, and in case of a malfunction it can only be repaired by a specialist.
- Valve This is a fairly simple design, the main components of which are the body, valve and spout. Sometimes bathrooms use faucets. Outdated models have rubber gaskets, and new ones are equipped with ceramic plates.
- Lever These devices are becoming more popular. The design feature is that it is equipped with a ceramic or metal ball cartridge.
Causes of breakdowns
Before you fix the faucet in the bathroom, you need to know why, in fact, this malfunction occurred. The most common causes are:
- Poor product quality. First of all, this is relevant for the products of dubious companies that use short-lived and low-quality components with consumables in production.
- The use of obsolete materials. For example, rubber gaskets are inferior in strength to silicone and paronite. The latter do not crack upon drying and are deformed to a much lesser extent than rubber.
- Heavily contaminated water in pipes.
- Increased hardness of tap water, which often causes cracking of seals.
Symptoms and Troubleshooting
Now we’ll take a closer look at typical malfunctions and how to fix a shower tap.
Important! All work related to repairs must be performed with a shut-off water supply.
Leaking water at the junction of the device and the gander
This breakdown is quite common, because the gander rotates in different directions. This leads to wear of the rubber gasket located in the groove of the gander. To cope with this trouble, you have to disconnect the gander and do such a repair of the crane with your own hands:
- Unscrew the fixing nut.
- Remove the gander.
- Remove the remaining worn gasket from the groove.
- Install a new gasket, put the gander in its original position.
- Wrap the thread with FUM tape in 2-3 layers.
- Tighten the fixing nut.
Leaking out of control lever
This breakdown is a common occurrence for lever mixing devices. It is caused by a cartridge malfunction. In addition to the flow of water, a faulty cartridge declares itself with such signs:
- Difficult control lever.
- Spontaneous change in water temperature.
- Lack of water supply - hot or cold.
- Incomplete overlap or incomplete opening of the tap.
The solution to this problem is to replace the cartridge. Proceed according to this algorithm:
- Remove the red-blue colored plug from the mixer body.
- Using a small Phillips screwdriver, loosen or loosen the locking screw.
- Remove the lever and the decorative cover.
- Using an adjustable wrench, unscrew the nut that holds the cartridge in the housing.
- Remove the worn cartridge, replace it with a new one.
- Reassemble the mixer in the reverse order.
Important! The protrusions on the cartridge housing must align with the recesses in the mixer housing. If you do not combine them, then the design will leak.
Two-valve bath mixer - do-it-yourself DIY repair
The cause of this failure is the wear of the sealing washer on the axle box. The cause may also be the wear of the crane itself. It is not at all difficult to replace these components:
- Remove the plug from the valve that is leaking.
- Remove the screw that secures the valve to the body.
- Unscrew the axle box with an adjustable or open end wrench.
- Replace the axle box or o-ring.
- Reinstall the crane axle in its original position - new or repaired.
Flowing switch from tap to shower
The cause of the leak is damage to the gasket between the housing and the switch. The crane can be repaired using the following algorithm:
- Remove the toggle button.
- Remove valve and stem.
- Remove the worn oil seal.
- Establish a new epiploon in the place of the damaged.
- Reassemble the switch.
Repairing the shower switch in the mixer is a snap.
Button or valve “shower faucet” defective
If the button has stopped returning to its original position, the problem is a malfunction of its spring. Disassemble the switch in accordance with the algorithm already described, remove the broken spring and replace it with a good one.
Sometimes it happens that the switch does not work. In this case, water is simultaneously poured out of the shower and from the tap. The reason - the oil seal, which is located on the switch rod, cracked.
The troubleshooting procedure is as follows:
- Remove the button.
- Remove the stem.
- Replace the worn oil seal with a whole.
- Assemble the switch.
Insufficient water pressure
If the pressure of the water in the house is normal, and the water in the bathroom flows weakly, then the matter is the clogging of the filter-aerator. Unscrew it and check the pressure. If the water began to go better, then the cause of the malfunction was found correctly. Rinse the aerator under running water and screw it into place.
to contents ↑Stock footage
If you use high-quality consumables, think about how to fix the faucet in the bathroom if it leaks, you will have to much less. Remember this when buying new plumbing, because often the long-term preservation of the entire finish of the bathroom, not only yours, but also your neighbors, often depends on its quality.