What to do if the tap on the mixer is spinning

Imagine this situation: after once again washing your hands in the kitchen or bathroom, you turn on the faucet valve and suddenly realize that it is no longer possible to close it completely - the valve can be turned endlessly, but the water never stops flowing or its supply stops only in a certain valve position. What to do in this case?

Reasons for turning the tap on the mixer

Conventional faucet axle boxes installed on most modern two-valve mixers break quite often. A plumbing expert will be able to name several possible reasons why such a faucet begins to turn and stops recording the water supply. Among them:

• wear of the threads of the axlebox core (the most common and common cause);
• factory defective core (most often reveals itself when installing a new mixer);
• mechanical damage to the thread (may occur due to overtightening or poor-quality repair of the mixer).

Regardless of the nature and cause of the breakdown, only replacing the core with a new one will help to radically solve the problem. Next, we will consider a detailed algorithm for replacing it.

Attention! If you do not have at least a basic set of tools for carrying out minor plumbing repairs and have never dealt with repairing a faucet yourself, then it is better to leave the solution to the problem in the hands of professionals. It may cost more, but you will certainly avoid more serious damage and save a lot of time.

Repairing a mixer if the faucet axle rotates

First, turn off the water supply. Typically, valves (taps) intended for these purposes are located just below the flexible supply hoses, however, if there are none, you will have to shut off the entire riser. By the way, you can limit yourself to shutting off only the supply whose valve core needs to be replaced.

Reference. If the hot and cold water pipes are not marked in any way, you can briefly open the tap and feel the supply hoses: the hot water hose will be much warmer.

After the supply is shut off, you need to stock up on the necessary tools. To replace the crank faucet core you will need:

• flat screwdriver;
• stationery knife;
• pliers;
• a set of wrenches or an adjustable wrench;
• new core.

Advice. In order not to make a mistake with your choice and not waste time searching for a new core of the required size, you can go to a plumbing store with the old one as a sample. By the way, if the seller offers you a choice of Chinese and original parts, feel free to choose the second: as you know, a stingy person pays twice, and in our case he also disassembles the mixer twice.

First, you need to carefully use a utility blade or a thin flat screwdriver to pry off the plastic or iron decorative cap that covers the axle box mounting bolt on the front side.Sometimes such a cap can only be removed with the help of pliers, so do not overdo it with the blade.

As soon as the cover is removed, you will see the screw that secures the axle box to the mixer. It may not be easy to unscrew it (such connections often rust, which greatly complicates the process of disassembling them), so you may need a screwdriver or a screwdriver with a comfortable wide handle.

Advice. If the mount is stuck “tightly”, you can try treating it with a product called WD-40, familiar to every car enthusiast.

After the valve has been successfully removed, you will see the core, which needs to be replaced. The core is unscrewed counterclockwise using an adjustable wrench or spanner (at worst, with pliers). If the mixer has served faithfully for several years and has never been repaired, it may not be easy to unscrew the core, but just make a few turns with the key and things will go easier.

The new core is screwed into place of the old one clockwise using the same key. Try to tighten it as tightly as possible, but at the same time not damage the threads. If you feel that the part is not following the thread or is screwed in too tightly from the very beginning, it is better to immediately unscrew it and clean both threaded connections with a soft rag or brush.

When the valve returns to its place and the screw securing it is tightly tightened, you can insert the decorative cap into place. Next, you need to turn on the water supply and check the functionality and tightness of the mixer.

If you did everything correctly, the axle box will completely block the feed without much effort after just a couple of revolutions.If a sudden leak appears or the quality of work does not satisfy you for any other reason, it’s time to contact a professional plumber.