Fixing bathroom tap mixers

[muppet]

Fixing bathroom tap mixers (i.e. one fitting with a handle that mixes the hot and cold water) that are leaking.

For those who don’t know, the cartridge is a plastic and rubber assembly that fits inside the tap mixer that has seals controlling the flow of hot and cold water on and off. And eventually the seals wear out and your tap mixer will drip and/or leak down the side.

So what you do is flick off the little plastic blue/red disc at the front, insert an allen key in and undo a little grubber screw which lets you lift of the handle. Then if you’re lucky, you can undo a hexagonal nut and take the cartridge out and replace it with a new one.
However with these tap mixers, there was a more complicated ring thing holding the cartridges in place. And a special tool is used to get them out.

It can be undone with multi-grips.

Once the cartridges are out take them to Plumbing World or some such place and hopefully get replacements.

Thanks to Davo36 for the information.
The whole story can be seen at http://www.duganotherhole.com/

[drelly]

Not all of those things can be fixed. Many have a ceramic disc that can't be changed, especially the cheap imports. If grit gets into the disc and wears it out, it's all over.

[Kaye]

Hmm if anyone requires the "special tool" referred to I have one! These aren't the normal hex spanners available on the market I recently spoke with a neighbour around the road and he pd a plumber $360 to get him to come around and use this tool so he could then fit the new tap! Oops a simple ph call I'd have done it for nada!

[Perry]

It's a warranty condition to have a filter
in the line for mixer taps, BTW.