In detail: DIY grohe bathroom faucet repair from a real master for my.housecope.com.
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Regular use of sanitary equipment both in the kitchen and in the bathroom requires manufacturers to improve the quality and expand the functionality of their products.
From a number of proposals on the sanitary equipment market, Grohe bathroom faucets stand out favorably, repairs for which are very rarely required, due to the excellent quality and reliability of the units. However, long enough improper operation and high water hardness can also damage these devices.
You can repair Grohe brand faucets yourself at home. However, this is a rather laborious procedure that requires patience and perseverance.
You can repair faucets with the usual set of tools that every home has.
Grohe brand faucets can be subject to various kinds of malfunctions:
- Unit leak
- Water flows slowly from the faucet
- Problems associated with the operation of the mixer in the "bath-shower" mode
- Poorly installed switch
Repair of a single-lever mixer is slightly different from that of a two-valve device. But the main causes of malfunctions of Grohe brand faucets in these cases may be:
- Blockage of the switch with small particles. This is possible if the running water is contaminated.
- High water hardness
- Natural wear of structural parts
Experts strongly recommend using tap filters with openings no larger than 100 microns to prevent abrasive particles from entering the faucets.
Video (click to play). |
Depending on the type of problem, the following manipulations are performed:
- Troubleshooting Cartridge Operation
As a rule, small abrasive particles contained in running water get stuck inside the ceramic disc of a single-lever device. This may cause the mixer to leak.
To restore normal operation of the unit, it is necessary to completely replace the entire shutter.
How to do it:
- Remove the plug from the front of the unit (there is a decorative marking in blue and red colors)
- Remove the screw that holds the lever
- Remove the unit from the housing
- Remove the defective filter (cartridge) and replace it with a new one
Install the lever in its place, following the reverse sequence of actions.
This principle is suitable for almost any model of mixers, not only the Grohe brand.
The faucets in the kitchen are also repaired in the same way.
- Low water pressure from the tap
Grohe faucets are equipped with the SpeadCleen system. It involves inserting silicone pads into the filter. If the cartridge is clogged with limescale, just run your finger over the insert and the water pressure will be restored.
Older model faucets include metal meshes. In this case, do the following:
- Remove metal mesh
- Rinse thoroughly under running water
- Put the part back
- Restoring the function of the bath-shower mode switch
It happens that water begins to flow immediately from the tap and shower head. In such a situation, experts talk about the wear of the spool gasket. Mixers can be repaired in the following sequence:
- Screw all water supply levers
- Dismantle the hose from the shower head
- Remove adapter and drain
- Unscrew the main screw securing the control lever
- Remove eccentric
- Remove the spool gasket from the body, remove the silicone rings. To do this, you may need an awl or a flathead screwdriver.
- Install new rings and lightly moisten them.
- Put on the spool gasket and restore the structure in the opposite order
Usually new Grohe faucets come with gaskets.
You can repair mixers by making rubber rings yourself. To do this, you will need a piece of material at least three to four cm thick. Of course, they are short-lived, but they can help out in an emergency.
Faucets can also be helped out with linen thread or a thin copper gasket wound around old rings. This will slightly extend the life of the rings. However, after a while, the mixers will still have to be disassembled.
Consider how a bathroom faucet with a shower works. This will help to understand the principle of its operation, depending on the design. All faucets that can be used in the bathroom are divided into 3 categories:
1. Touch. The control element of such a device is a photocell that gives a command to turn the device on and off. Self-repair of such devices is very difficult, so it would be most rational to refer it to specialists.
2. valve. The device of the bathroom faucet with a valve-type shower is quite simple:
- frame;
- spout;
- valves. Designed for manual control of the mixer;
- axle box crane. They control the flow of water. Older models are equipped with rubber gaskets, while new ones have ceramic plates.
Tip: Ceramic bushings are much more durable than older models, and they are much easier to manage, since the valve rotates a maximum of 180 degrees.
3. Lever. Recently, this type of mixer is gaining popularity. A typical lever model consists of the following elements:
- frame;
- spout (gander);
- a ceramic or ball cartridge in which water is mixed. Ceramic cartridges cannot be disassembled. If such a cartridge has become unusable, the repair of a bathroom faucet with a shower will consist in replacing such a cartridge;
- control knob that regulates the pressure of water and its temperature. Mounted on the cartridge lever;
- a nut that fixes the cartridge in the housing;
- a housing cover that covers the cartridge and is designed to give the mixer a more aesthetic appearance.
If you carefully study the device of the bathroom faucet with a shower, its repair will not be difficult. It is only important to know the causes of breakdowns:
- Unsatisfactory product quality. This is typical for products of little-known manufacturers who use low-quality components and consumables in their work;
- Use of old consumables. For example, paronite or silicone gaskets last much longer than rubber products. In addition, they are less deformed and do not collapse from drying out;
- Dirty water in pipes;
- Increased water hardness affects the internal parts of the device, provoking the formation of deposits and cracking of the seals.
Let us analyze in more detail what breakdowns can occur during the operation of a faucet with a shower, as well as how to fix a faucet in the bathroom on your own. Faults may be of the following nature:
This is the most common failure, as the gander constantly rotates in different directions, which leads to wear of the rounded rubber pad. This gasket is located in the groove of the gooseneck, so the gooseneck must be disconnected to replace it.
Actions are performed in the following sequence:
- the fastening nut is unscrewed;
- gander is removed;
- the remnants of the old gasket are removed from the gander groove;
- a new gasket is installed;
- the goose is put in place;
- the thread on which the fixing nut will be screwed is wrapped with 2-3 layers of FUM tape;
- the gander fastening nut is tightened.
Such a failure is typical for single-lever mixers and is caused by a cartridge failure. The faucet needs to be disassembled and replace cartridge. In addition to this failure, there are several other signs of cartridge failure:
- the lever became difficult to control;
- the temperature of the supplied water changes spontaneously;
- no supply of either hot or cold water;
- The valve does not close completely or does not open completely.
In this case, the cartridge needs to be replaced. Do-it-yourself bathroom faucet repair is carried out in the following order:
-
A red-blue plug is removed from the mixer body.
Important: There are protrusions on the cartridge body that must align with the recesses inside the body. Align them carefully. If they don't match, the mixer will leak.
The reason for the leakage of a two-valve mixer is the wear or destruction of the sealing washer located on the crane box. The destruction of the crane box itself may also occur. If the faucet in the bathroom is leaking - how to fix it quickly and inexpensively? Only on my own replacing the crane box or the washer on it. There is nothing difficult in this.
All work is carried out with the water supply turned off:
- the plug is removed from the leaking valve;
- the screw is unscrewed with which the valve is attached to the mixer body;
- with the help of an open-end or adjustable wrench, a crane box is unscrewed;
- the crane box itself or the sealing ring on it is replaced;
- a new or refurbished crane box is installed in the old place.
There is another gasket between the faucet-shower switch and the body, which can be damaged. How to fix a bathroom faucet whose switch is leaking? Just disassembling the switch itself:
- the button (switch) is removed, for which the stem is held in a fixed position with pliers;
- the valve with the stem is removed;
- the damaged seal is removed;
- in his place new seal installed;
- the switch is put together.
Repair of a faucet with a flag switch is shown in the video.
If the cause of the breakdown lies in the fact that the tap is simply clogged, for example, with lime salts or other rubbish, then the repair will progress much faster. It is necessary, according to the instructions above, to remove the case and clean it with a special gel. Depending on the material of the spout, you need to choose the right cleaning agent. For brass, copper and steel they are different. Please note that often an imported faucet (Italian, German, etc.) is equipped with a special mesh, which is located directly under the spout. It needs to be cleaned with an old toothbrush and blown out.
Disassembly and repair tips from an expert:
- Many models (Blanco Elipso, Hansberg Prestige, Hansgrohe, Sentosa, Mofem) are equipped with a special decorative panel. It can only be removed with a thin screwdriver. The cover is attached from below, from the side of the body and carefully lifted up;
- If your aerator is dirty, you can dip it in a container of food vinegar for 1 hour to remove various dirt inclusions. Be sure to rinse with water before installation.
- Ideally, you need to buy a complete repair kit for your model in advance;
- Before disassembling, first study the device of your particular type of mixer.
Video: how to disassemble a swivel single-lever faucet / faucet in the bathroom
It should be noted that now single-lever faucets with ceramic cartridges are often installed for a washbasin or as a kitchen faucet. They are not replaceable, so if they break, they need to be disassembled and thrown away. But in most cases, a ceramic cartridge faucet will last a long time, so it rarely needs to be replaced.
and another video instruction on how to disassemble a kitchen faucet with a ceramic cartridge
It is quite simple to disassemble a water two-valve half-turn mixer (Hansa Stela, Vidima, Frap) with a cartridge, because each drain is connected to a separate lever, it is simple and practical to use. Valve models are most often equipped with special plates that are tightly ground to each other.
When one valve is turned, a stream of water of a certain temperature opens. To protect these plates, rubber or plastic gaskets are used, which ensure their tightness and softness when moving.
There are two types of kitchen faucet with a two-lever mechanism:
- Herringbone (Wasser Kraft, SMARTsant, Swes, Zegor, Roddex, Vega);
- Pipe (Jacob Delafon Carafe, Ferro Standard, Kludi O-Cean).
Domestic herringbone faucet is still one of the most popular types of kitchen and bathroom faucets.A feature of this design is the presence in the body of a kind of tee, through which the drainage pipes are connected to the lever.
The branch pipe is connected using pipes that are inserted directly into the spout, without the use of additional splitters.
How to disassemble a faucet with two handles:
- A modern double-lever faucet can only be disassembled after unscrewing the locking screw, which is located under the decorative panel. But at the same time, the old Soviet crane has a more complex design. Here you will need to remove the lock nut, under which the valve is located, it is also unscrewed, opening access to internal parts;
- Under the screw there is a crane box, which acts as a valve, it must be carefully disassembled and removed;
- Under the axle box there is a gasket or ring that is necessary to seal the structure. It must be checked for integrity and purity. Even a small mote can cause a leak in the mixer;
- It is necessary to assemble a two-lever mixer according to the reverse scheme, after checking the connection of pipes and the integrity of the body.
If the body of the herringbone faucet is cracked, then it cannot be repaired. Most often this happens with cheap Chinese faucets, such as Calorie and others.
Video: How to disassemble a two-valve bath faucet
The Grohe faucet, despite the fact that it is disassembled according to similar rules as a single-lever one, I put it in a separate subsection of this article. The reason lies in its popularity and reliability.
The peculiarity of Grohe is that it does not have flexible water connections on the thread like other mixers. That is, if you rotate them, we will not unscrew them. They are fixed from the inside. This will require:
- Remove handle. This is usually done with a hexagon.
- Then remove the cap - at Grohe it can be either threaded or non-threaded.
- Then remove the cartridge - usually for this you need to unscrew 2 screws with a screwdriver.
- Carefully push out the plastic spacer with a screwdriver;
- Remove sealing rings from flexible hoses;
- Remove the latch that holds the eyeliner in the case.
Everything! Access for flexible hoses is obtained and the mixer is disassembled. As you can see, the disassembly process is very similar to the instructions that I gave at the beginning of the article. It is important to understand that faucets from different manufacturers are generally disassembled in a similar way, but there may be some nuances, like Grohe with the same gasket, the type of tool used in the work, the number of screws to be unscrewed, and so on.
If a model with a thermostat is acting up, you will need the help of a specialist. The fact is that the connection diagram of the temperature indicator depends on the manufacturer. In addition, this device has very delicate contacts that can be easily damaged if disassembled incorrectly. The figure below shows schematically the main components of a thermostatic mixer.
Video (click to play). |
Video: Cleaning the thermostat from scale in the Vado mixer