Slow hot water from mixer tap

poppellerant

I have a Plumbsure Quartz Bath Shower Mixer installed on my bath.

This was installed last year, but over the last few months the hot tap does not turn as much and the flow of hot water has decreased. I wouldn't say the flow has gone to a dribble, but it's certainly less than when it was installed.

Almost next to the bath is the sink and the flow from that hot water tap is normal - ie: more flow than the mixer on the bath. The kitchen hot water is also normal - ie: the same as the bathroom sink. So the kitchen and bathroom hot water flows have not changed and are normal.

These taps were installed for me but I am not very wise when it comes to plumbing. I don't mind turning the water off and trying suggestions on here though.

I should also add that the flow from the mixer is the same either straight from the tap or the shower.

Hope somebody can help!

MoneyMate

If you live in a hard water area without a softener you can get a slow but gradual buildup of scale , have a look at the shower rose, may be scaled up inside ?

Myser

How hot is the water from any hot water tap alone?

poppellerant

MoneyMate wrote: »

If you live in a hard water area without a softener you can get a slow but gradual buildup of scale , have a look at the shower rose, may be scaled up inside ?

The flow from the mixer is slow, either straight from the tap or the shower.

Myser wrote: »

How hot is the water from any hot water tap alone?

It seems quite hot, enough for me to have to turn it down at the boiler. I've put this down to the recent wam weather.

Myser

poppellerant wrote: »

It seems quite hot, enough for me to have to turn it down at the boiler. I've put this down to the recent wam weather.

If it is too hot to touch i.e. you can see steam coming out too, the washer may have become deformed in the tap. Causing a reduction in flow.

Do you have hard water in your area? Is there a lot of scale on the sink/bath?

southcoastrgi

turn the water off, take off the tap head (screw under the top cover), take the head gear out of the tap, hold it in your hand & screw down the top spindle, the bit with the washer will fall out & you will see a nut shape this needs to go back into the female nut shape in the tap body, put it back on the thread & screw the top spindle anticlockwise & it will pull the washer assembly back into the body make sure it goes all the way in (it should look like the pic below) if it doesn't turn the washer assembly a bit so it goes in (this is your currant prob because the washer isn't going back into the tap far enough), fit a new washer & put the head gear back into the tap & turn the water back on

mehera

Or just band a couple of new taps on there might be easier!

southcoastrgi

Not very MSE when it's an easy fix for the price of a washer

poppellerant

southcoastrgi wrote: »

turn the water off, take off the tap head (screw under the top cover), take the head gear out of the tap, hold it in your hand & screw down the top spindle, the bit with the washer will fall out & you will see a nut shape this needs to go back into the female nut shape in the tap body, put it back on the thread & screw the top spindle anticlockwise & it will pull the washer assembly back into the body make sure it goes all the way in (it should look like the pic below) if it doesn't turn the washer assembly a bit so it goes in (this is your currant prob because the washer isn't going back into the tap far enough), fit a new washer & put the head gear back into the tap & turn the water back on

Many thanks - if I could thank you more than once on here, I would!

I don't mind admitting being weary of following your instructions, being quite clueless about plumbing. But I persisted and you helped solve my problem.

What happened was for some reason when I took the tap body/gear from the tap I saw the bottom half was still open - explaining why it would tighten in just a turn or two. All I did was align the nut so it went all the way into the hole and voila! Sucess!

mehera wrote: »

Or just band a couple of new taps on there might be easier!

I didn't even spend a penny fixing the problem - so your suggestion is just wasteful. I just used the tools I already had in my house.

Mr_Ted

southcoastrgi wrote: »

turn the water off, take off the tap head (screw under the top cover), take the head gear out of the tap, hold it in your hand & screw down the top spindle, the bit with the washer will fall out & you will see a nut shape this needs to go back into the female nut shape in the tap body, put it back on the thread & screw the top spindle anticlockwise & it will pull the washer assembly back into the body make sure it goes all the way in (it should look like the pic below) if it doesn't turn the washer assembly a bit so it goes in (this is your currant prob because the washer isn't going back into the tap far enough), fit a new washer & put the head gear back into the tap & turn the water back on

;)Totally agree with this;)

There has been what i consider a design fault with this type of modern tap that as the washer wears or is compressed the hexagonal retainer, the washer and jumper fit into, and is moved up and down inside the tap as it is operated, reaches a point whereby as the tap is closed fully and excessively over time the hexagonal retainer is pushed below the point that it slides up and down in the hexagonal tap body, and it jams in a partly closed position and wont open!
The tap spindle still appears to operate but internally the washer section does not move much to allow free flow of water.
Removal of the tap assembly, disassemble and reassembly with a new washer and it is cured, until the wear reappears?
A tip would be with this type of tap is never to over tighten the tap when you turn it off, just finger tight will ensure a longer washer life;)

poppellerant

Is it possible to completely replace the spindles altogether if it happens again? If so, which part on Screwfix (or the likes) would I need?