The mixer is difficult to open: practical experience in repairing a single-lever faucet

The single lever kitchen faucet has become difficult to open and close over time. If you do not pay attention to this problem, one fine day, when you try to open the water, the faucet cartridge will fall apart and you will be left with a broken handle in your hands. Will have to urgently repair.

Why is the faucet wedged?

Seizures are usually caused by poor quality water. The aerator is clogged, friction between the moving parts of the mixer increases. At first, the handle starts to move slowly. Over time, the situation gets worse and worse.

Good thing you need to change the cartridge to a new one. But if the water is bad and the problem recurs periodically, you won’t get enough cartridges. Therefore, consider an alternative repair method. I will also talk about the possible "pitfalls" that you can meet in the process.

Subject - Faucet knob began to open and close tightly.

We clean the aerator

You just need to unscrew the old aerator and screw a new one in its place. Simple in words, but not easy in practice. Often the connection is covered with a water stone and cannot be unscrewed.

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It is often recommended to spray the joint with WD40. Yes, this liquid corrodes rust well, but is useless against water stone.

I add citric acid to warm water to make a concentrated solution. If the design of the tap allows, I tie a deodorant cap to the spout and fill it with a solution of citric acid. The aerator must be in liquid. I wait 15-20 minutes and you can unscrew.

If the aerator does not unscrew by hand, I soak it in a solution of citric acid.

With the hard side of a kitchen sponge, I remove the “limp” deposits. Lightly tap the aerator with the handle of a hammer. In order not to spoil the surface, I stick masking tape. I unscrew the clogged aerator with an adjustable wrench. You can replace it with a new one, or you can clean it and install it back.

In order not to scratch the body of the aerator, I protect it with masking tape.

Removing the mixer handle

I hook it with a knife and remove the decorative plug “hot / cold water”. There is a screw underneath. The screw is usually a hex. But it happens under a slotted or Phillips screwdriver. Unscrew the screw and pull the mixer lever up to remove.

Again, in theory, everything is simple. In practice, this screw is unscrewed every other time. Yes, you can tap on it through the spacer. You can spray something to remove deposits. If it doesn't help, I drill out the screw. Unfortunately, I don't know of any other way to defeat him.

We look at the cap of the screw - in this case, under the hexagon.

Removing the decorative cap

We just unscrew. But you already understood that it is not easy. If she didn’t go right away, I put a rag soaked in a solution of citric acid on top for 15 minutes. She should have remained after unscrewing the aerator.

If you can't unscrew it by hand, use pliers. In order not to scratch the surface, I put a rag. The decorative overlay is plastic, so you need to do everything carefully.

If you can’t unscrew it with your hands, gently try with pliers.

Unscrew the locknut

In theory, unscrew it with an adjustable wrench. If it worked out, great. But with poor water quality in this place, there is also enough water stone and other deposits.

First I try to unscrew the nut with an adjustable wrench.

In order not to tear off the edges with a key, I take a socket head (in my case, 30 mm). Without jerking, shaking from side to side, carefully unscrew the nut.

After this action, it may dawn on someone that it was necessary to turn off the water. Well, yes, we first turn off the water. This goes without saying.

If the key does not work right away, I use the socket head.

Lubricate the cartridge

There are two latches on the cartridge. Gently pry them with a screwdriver and remove the lower part. Pay attention to the rigidity of the plastic. Over time, it "dubeet" - it becomes brittle. It is easy to break the case or the latches.

Carefully pry up the fasteners.

We take out the ceramic locking elements. They are lubricated from the factory. When the grease is washed out, they begin to walk hard - the mixer handle sticks. We apply silicone grease to the friction surfaces of the ceramic elements and assemble the cartridge.

I lubricate the rubbing surfaces of ceramic plates.

All other work is carried out in reverse order. As a result, we get a serviceable faucet in the kitchen or in the bathroom.

I didn't know about these details before. If the information turned out to be useful for you, as it was for me before, you can like it as a “thank you” 👍. Learn from the mistakes of others and make as few of your own as possible. If suddenly not signed, welcome to the channel.