How to replace a cartridge in a faucet yourself

Single-lever faucets are quite popular; they are the first thing people pay attention to when choosing plumbing fixtures. But nothing lasts forever, and sooner or later, due to exposure to poorly filtered water containing various impurities and sand particles, the cartridge has to be replaced. It is responsible for supplying water from cold and hot pipes and its subsequent mixing.

How to quickly replace the cartridge with your own hands, and what hexagon is needed for the mixer, we will find out further in the text.

Appearance of the cartridge in a lever mixer

Step-by-step replacement of the cartridge in the mixer

The sequence of actions in this case is as follows:

1. The main thing before work is to remember to shut off both pipes with hot and cold water.
2. Now you need to remove the plug, it is usually disguised as the orientation of the water and is indicated in blue and red. Hidden underneath is a locking screw that holds the mixer handle.
3. We will need a 2.5 mm hexagon, carefully unscrew it and pull the handle up, removing it. In principle, a flat-head screwdriver with a blade of appropriate size will do.
4. There is a decorative element under it, twist it and see a nut, which also needs to be unscrewed using a wrench.
5. All that remains is to remove and wash the cartridge, and also clean out all the dirt that has accumulated in the tap.
6. In its place, insert a new cartridge and assemble all the parts in the reverse order.
7. We open the inlet valves and check the operation of the repaired mixer.

Step-by-step disassembly of the mixer

Upon completion of all the above points, you can once again enjoy the stable operation of the sink. It is worth keeping in mind that if the situation repeats itself again, it will either be the fault of the new, low-quality cartridge, or the mixer itself, and it will have to be completely replaced.

Faucet repair tools

For work you will need the following accessories:

• Screwdriver Set;
• 2.5 mm hexagon;
• adjustable wrench;
• cloth for wiping.

Hex key set - get something like this

If there is obvious scale or rust, you need to arm yourself with pliers or special chemicals to remove them. If you don't have a miracle remedy at hand WD-40, you can use vinegar solution.

Possible problems caused by a faulty cartridge

How to determine that there is a need for replacement? There are two criteria:

1. You can often encounter a situation where you switch the faucet to the hot side, but it still pours cold water. If such a case occurs every time you adjust the water temperature, the mixer has nothing to do with it; this is due to the long running of hot water through the pipes. But if this situation has appeared recently and the water takes a long time to adjust from one temperature to another, it’s all about cartridge.
2. Another “alarm bell” is a leaking faucet. Even rare drops indicate that the water in the kitchen or bathroom is not completely shut off, and the leak causes losses to the family budget.

As you have seen, there is no higher mathematics in the replacement procedure; there would only be hands from the right place and the necessary set of tools.