How to choose and change gaskets for faucets in the bathroom

All water taps, valves and other types of valves and fittings, regardless of their purpose and installation location, in the closed position should completely block the flow of water to the point of dismantling, or the final consumer sanitary devices.

In most cases, this uses rubber, silicone, or paronitic gaskets for the bathroom faucet, which are mounted on the locking rod, or other movable elements of the axle box of the faucet, and thereby ensure complete tightness of the adjacent parts.

Independent replacement of gaskets in household mixers

Over time, the rubber seals wear out, lose their elasticity, so their sealing ability is significantly reduced, which in most cases leads to leakage, reduced pressure, and the inability to completely shut off the water supply.

In order to restore the efficiency of the faucet, you will need a simple replacement of the gasket in the bathroom or kitchen, with which any home craftsman will be able to cope on his own in a short period of time.

Varieties of water mixers

A repair kit for most household faucets can be purchased at any building or hardware store, but before changing the gasket in the kitchen or bathroom faucet, you need to determine what type of shut-off valves for hot and cold water are installed in a particular plumbing fixture.

In order to make it easier for the reader to do this, a brief but understandable instruction will be presented that allows you to determine the type of locking device by its appearance and indirect features:

1. Water mixer with the usual worm cranes is a device with two full-rotary shut-off valves, each of which serves to shut off the supply of cold and, accordingly, hot water. To completely open or shut off the water supply in such devices, the external flywheel of the shut-off valve must be turned a few full turns.
2. The crankshaft with rotatable ceramic inserts is similar in appearance to devices of the first type, but during its use you can see one significant difference. To completely shut off or open the water supply, it is necessary to perform one incomplete turn of the flywheel of the stop valve, turning it in one direction or another by 90 °.
3. Single-lever plumbing devices, outwardly markedly differ by the complete absence of rotary valve flywheels, and the presence of one common lever, which simultaneously regulates the ratio, as well as the force of pressure, and cold, and warm water.

Note! Water adjustment in lever-type devices is performed using special cartridges, inside of which there are tightly fitted ceramic plates lapped into each other, therefore, when leakage occurs in such mixers, it makes sense to replace the entire cartridge at once.

Replacing gaskets in a worm type crankcase

Worm-type water taps are considered obsolete, however, due to the simple and, accordingly, reliable construction, they are often used today. Most often in such devices wear rubber gasket movable valve, through which it is pressed against his saddle.

In order to replace it, you need to perform a partial disassembly of the entire device.

1. Using a screwdriver or a knife, remove the trim plates that are installed in the center of the rotary flywheels, then unscrew the brass screws, and remove the flywheels.
2. Using an adjustable or open-ended wrench of the appropriate size, unscrew the worm bush from the body of the crane so that it comes out with the stem.
3. A metal valve plate is mounted on the inner end of the movable rod. At its end is a brass screw, which must be unscrewed, and then remove the old rubber gasket.
4. After that, check the bush for any visible signs of wear and mechanical damage, install a new gasket from the repair kit, and reassemble the crane in the reverse order.

Tip! For convenience of work, before changing the gasket in the mixer with worm-type cranes, it is recommended to turn the rotary flywheels of both valves to the open position.

Repair crane boxes with ceramic swivel liners

Modern half-turn valves with ceramic inserts can also be repaired by installing new rubber or silicone seals and locking inserts from the repair kit, which can also be bought at a hardware or hardware store, but the price of this kit will be slightly higher than the cost of seals for worm-type valves.

1. The disassembly of the half-turn valve is performed in the same manner as the dismantling of the worm crane: you need to remove the decorative plugs, unscrew the fastening screws, and then remove the rotary flywheels and protective caps.
2. Using the open-end wrench or adjustable wrench, carefully unscrew the swivel box from the valve body.

1. Before replacing the gasket in the faucet in the bathroom or kitchen, remove the old sealing ring from the bottom end of the axle box and then remove the worn ceramic inserts.
2. In their place, install new ceramic inserts from the rem kit, paying attention to the correctness and order of their installation.
3. At the end of the swivel axle box, install a new sealing gasket, then screw it into the body of the faucet, and reassemble the entire sink faucet device again, in reverse order.

Tip! During the tightening of threaded pipe connections when assembling the valves with your own hands, you should not exert too much effort, as this can lead to damage to the gaskets, squeezing seals and glands, as well as the formation of cracks on the valve body.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be recalled that all repairs on plumbing fixtures can be carried out only when there is no water pressure in the system, so before changing the gasket in the faucet in the bathroom or in the kitchen, you must shut off the inlet tap of the common plumbing riser in the apartment.

More detailed information about the repair of water valves can be obtained by viewing the video in this article, or by reading similar materials in this section of our site.