What to do if cold water leaks from a single lever mixer

Hello! Cold water leaks from a single lever mixer. I replaced the cartridge, but nothing has changed. What could it be? Thank!

Sergei

Expert Answer

Good day, Sergey!

There can be several reasons for leaking cold water from a single lever mixer. One of the most common malfunctions is cartridge wear, so you acted quite logically by replacing this assembly with a new one. Since it was not possible to eliminate the leakage, it can be concluded that the mixing device itself has nothing to do with it.

Since you did not provide information about the model and make of the mixer, we can give you a couple of useful tips that apply to most of these valves. The very first thing to do is to dismantle the cartridge and carefully inspect the internal cavities of the device. A fairly common cause of leakage is microcracks in the mixer body. If there are any, then you can not try to repair the defect with the help of some glue or "cold" welding - the crack will appear again due to the difference in thermal expansion of various materials. With such a malfunction, the mixing valve cannot be repaired. The second thing to do is to replace the gaskets, which lose their elasticity over time. If the device is assembled without seals, then all connections are treated with a special silicone sealant - very often water oozes along the threaded part.

In conclusion, we recommend that you check the health of the new cartridge. Unfortunately, recently the market has been flooded with cheap Chinese-made mixing units. Often it is impossible to distinguish a fake from a genuine part. The quality of such spare parts does not lend itself to any criticism. Cartridge failure may have been expelled from the fault chain too soon. We wish you success in the repair!