Not happy with kitchen tap recently fitted...advice needed please

moneyhelpneededplease

Hi,

Can I get some advice, please? We recently had a kitchen tap fitted. It was chosen and fitted by a company that helps people who have health conditions or are on a low income. The quote described the tap as a high neck mono mixer with cross head taps. However, after the first week of using it, it was clear that it doesn’t mix hot and cold to produce a warm temperature. You can even see the hot and cold come out of the spout at different points when they are both turned on.

I called the company and they came out at the start of the week, said they’d talk to the office which called today. I was about to head to a medical appointment so couldn’t talk for long. But the receptionist said that style of tap doesn’t mix, something about taps not mixing like the old style taps used too (I don't understand the technical stuff). She basically said they couldn’t return it or exchange unless there was a fault and if I wanted a tap that mixed, it would cost another set of fees to purchase a new tap and fit it. Apparently, the plumber told her the tap mixes, but when he came here he told me he knew it didn’t mix and when he heard that I had called to have it looked at he knew that was the reason I was calling. But he didn’t tell the receptionist who called that though and she was going to clarify with him and get back to me. To be fair to them, they didn’t know having a warm temperature is important to me because I have a nerve condition and too hot or too cold is painful, hence needing the warm temperature. However, I have no plumbing knowledge and wasn’t aware that there are mono taps that don’t mix the temperature, so I didn’t know I had to ask for that specifically and the invoice didn't indicate this was the case either.

I contacted Screwfix this evening to get some advice, the plumber told me at the start of the week that's where they purchased the tap from. Screwfix told me that the company could return the tap at the trade counter in return for credit and then just use that to purchase another tap or pay the difference. They also recommended a brand. I don’t mind paying for the difference between a tap and for them to come and fit it. But I don’t want to have to pay for another tap on top of this one, when this one doesn’t actually mix.

Do I have any rights to ask them to change it? Or am I stuck with what they fitted? The impression I got from the receptionist that called today was that they would only install a new one if I paid for everything again.

Any help would be really appreciated, please.
Thanks for reading.

Owain_Moneysaver

You can even see the hot and cold come out of the spout at different points when they are both turned on.

This is normal for kitchen taps, and is a water safety requirement when the hot water comes from a loft header tank and the cold water comes from the mains. It is not permitted to mix mains cold with tank hot in the body of the tap, as this could lead to cross-contamination of the mains water supply.

If you have mains hot water (eg from a combi boiler) as well as cold, then you could consider a thermostatic mixing valve below the sink, which mixes hot and cold and delivers warm water at a preset temperature. I don't know if they work with mixed mains/tank supplies or what precautions would have to be taken to prevent contamination.

You'd need a qualified plumber familiar with the Water Regulations and ideally the NHS Health Technical Memoranda who could look at your system and recommend something appropriate.

southcoastrgi

They are called mixer taps because the hot & cold comes out of a single spout, most modern sink taps have two parts to the spout, the water will be kinda mixed when you put your hands under the water, cheaper taps tend to mix the water in the body & I must admit I wouldn't know which was which as the tap description wouldn't give you that info

moneyhelpneededplease

Thank you very much for both of your replies. But I’m kind of a bit more confused now, sorry for being slow. So, we have a bathroom tap, well it was the sink too that was fitted around 3 years ago and that mixes the water to produce warm. Why would that one do it but not the one in the kitchen? (I’m comparing those two because the kitchen tap this new one has replaced was over 20 years old). And can the only way to get a warm temperature is via a value? Do you think this would be a difficult job to do? I had no idea so much was involved.

MX5huggy

You don't want a pre mixer valve under the sink as pointed out you only have one temperature available. No good if you want a cold drink or to soak some filthy pans in hot water.

ryder72

Mixers by definition mix water just before the spout.

The better quality the tap the better the blending action. Dont expect a £30-40 tap to work in the same way at a £150 tap.

Kitchen taps usually suffer more than bathroom taps because the hot water run to the tap is often longer resulting in a greater pressure drop. The cold on a kitchen tap is usually running close to mains pressure while hot at the pressure available on your hot water system. If the pressures were balanced you will get better performance.

moneyhelpneededplease

Thank you for all of your replies.

Ryder your response makes a lot of sense to me. I guess I’m just wondering if going for a more expensive tap when the result could be the same as this one, is really worth it. Realistically I don’t have the money when you consider their fees for them to fit it as well; I had to save up for this one in the first place.

It’s not an ideal situation but I guess I’ll just have to put up with it really.

Jonesya

I think you risk spending a lot of money on taps and labour to end up with something little better than you've got at the moment. Even if the tap does mix, you get the temperature bouncing around as the hot water takes a while to flow through from the boiler/tank

Probably be better getting a bowl and using that to mix warm water.

moneyhelpneededplease

Update: I wanted to update my original post. The company called me at the start of the week to let me know two of their technicians would be coming. When they arrived they said they’d had a chat and decided to source a different tap, which they fitted and it’s what I had hoped for, to begin with. I’m really happy with it and the company only charged me the difference between the taps and not the costs to fit, plus apologised that the first tap wasn’t right for me. To be honest they restored my faith because I was worried they were slow in responding to delay the return period of the original tap. Thank you for all the replies, much appreciated. :j

NeverInDebt

Nice of them to do this and also for you getting back. Happy end after all. merry Christmas moneyhelpneededplease

moneyhelpneededplease

NeverInDebt wrote: »

Nice of them to do this and also for you getting back. Happy end after all. merry Christmas moneyhelpneededplease

Thank you. Merry Christmas :xmassmile