Causes of condensation on the sink with the tap turned off

Hello.

Drops of water or condensation constantly appear on the sink of the washbasin. From the tap does not drip, everything is dry. We have not been able to determine the cause for a week.

Thanks in advance, Alexander.

Expert Answer

Good afternoon, Alexander.

It is not difficult to determine what exactly is responsible for the appearance of water drops on the sink - condensation or a violation of the tightness of the tap. It is enough to turn on the water for 5-10 seconds after a long period of inactivity (for example, in the morning) and carefully examine the joints of the mixer parts and the place where it adjoins the sink. If you see annoying drops of liquid, then you are dealing with leakage, because condensate will appear only with a significant difference between the temperature of the water and the surrounding air. In your case, the water in the pipes will be warmed to room temperature, so it will not be able to form a dew point.

Most often, the cause of leakage of modern mixers is the loss of tightness of the turning unit - it is thanks to it that you have the opportunity to turn the tap of the tap in any direction. Often, leakage can be eliminated by simply pulling up the threaded plug of the mixer. To access it, disconnect the flexible eyeliner from the device and remove it from the sink. The cap is located on the side of the connection to the water supply - you can identify it either by external faces, or by holes or recesses for a special key. Try to tighten the connection, perhaps the reason is that the valve simply “got loose” from repeated turns in one direction or another. If this does not help, then you will have to completely unscrew the screw plug, disassemble the mixer and replace the o-rings of the rotary assembly.

I must say that the repair scheme described above is suitable for the most popular single-lever mixers today, and even for models with a bottom plug. Perhaps the design of your valve is slightly different in that the upper central nut is used to secure all of its parts. In this case, the device does not even have to be removed from the sink - it will be possible to replace the seals right on the spot. If you use a two-valve mixer with crane-axles, then leaky cuffs and a worn-out seal of the swivel spout can be the cause of leakage - all these parts will also have to be replaced.