Recommendation points
One of the main problems of the bath-shower mixer is the breakdown of the shower-spout switching mechanism. Sometimes the only solution is to buy a new mixer. However, in some cases only the mechanism itself can be changed. How to do it yourself, we will tell you in this article..
Symptoms of a broken shower / spout switch will be:
- inability or difficulty in switching the mechanism;
- simultaneous operation of both the shower and the spout of the mixer in any switch position.
Shower / spout switch mechanisms are of the following types:
- eccentric;
- cartridge;
- axle boxes;
- ball;
- as a separate unit (for some types of one-hand mixers).
Required tool
To carry out the work, we need:
- Wallpaper knife.
- Slotted (flat) screwdriver.
- Adjustable wrench.
- Gas wrench.
Replacing the shower / spout selector mechanism
Ball switches are the most reliable, but, unfortunately, they cannot be repaired, so if you have a mixer with just such a switching mechanism and it breaks down, then you will have to buy a new one..
For cartridge, axle and eccentric switches, the repair work will be as follows:
1. Dismantle the decorative cover on the shift knob. In some mixers, it is necessary to remove the plug with a wallpaper knife and unscrew the fastening screw that it covered with a screwdriver. In our case, it itself is such a screw. Turn it away.
2. Remove the handle.
3. Under the handle there is either an axle-box mechanism or a nut that secures the mechanism (cartridge or eccentric). Turn away.
4. We take out the mechanism. The axlebox or cartridge can be removed entirely. For eccentric ones, only one part will be removed – the eccentric itself.
5. To completely dismantle the eccentric switch, remove its inner part. To do this, unscrew the spout nut with our hands.
6. Remove the spout down.
7. Under the nut you will find a removable part of the body. You have to turn it away. This is very difficult to do. Wrap this part with a cloth so as not to damage the chrome coating during the dismantling process, and using a gas (not adjustable) wrench for the case itself, we unscrew this part.
8. If you manage to do this, then the inner part of the mechanism can be easily removed from the case. In general, it will look something like this:
On the right is the eccentric part, turns away first, on the left is the inner part. If you cannot remove the inner part, then you will have to change the mixer.
9. After dismantling, according to the samples received in the store, we buy the necessary spare parts and, in the reverse order to the described works, we assemble the mixer.
To replace a separate switching unit, it must be completely disconnected from the mixer.
1. Unscrew the shower hose by hand.
2. Unscrew the upper nut fastening the mechanism with the mixer body.
3. Remove the mechanism with a spout.
4. Unscrew the spout nut.
5. As a result, we get the switching mechanism.
6. In the store we buy a new mechanism and install it on the mixer.
Spout repair
We will not highlight the problem of water leakage from under the spout nut in a separate article. However, this problem is close, in fact, to the topic of this article and occurs quite often..
There are two types of spouts – round and flat. Water leaking from the retaining nuts indicates the need to replace the O-rings. To replace them, you need to dismantle the spouts themselves..
For round spouts, the dismantling process is described above in points 5 and 6 of the previous chapter. As a result, you will see two rubber rings on the spout..
It is them that need to be replaced. The photo shows another white ring. It serves to secure the spout when tightening the fastening nut..
For flat spouts, the dismantling process is the same – unscrew the fastening nut and remove the spout. Two o-rings are also visible on the inside, which need to be replaced.
It will be more convenient to do this if you dismantle the inner part. For this:
1. Unscrew the inner brass bushing with a hex key of a suitable size.
2. Take out the sleeve together with the nut.
3. Now the bushing itself can be easily removed from the nut.
4. Access to the O-rings is open.
At the end, once again, you should pay attention to the fact that almost all work on disassembly and assembly of mixers is done by hand. Keys are used only for tightening already twisted connections. Excessive forces when screwing in threads lead to damage, up to the complete destruction of the tightened parts..
Can you provide step-by-step instructions on how to replace the shower-spout switch in a mixer? I’m not sure where to start and could use some guidance.
I understand that this article talks about repairing a mixer by replacing the shower-spout switch. However, as a reader, I’m curious to know if it is possible to fix the switch without replacing it, or if there are any alternative solutions you can recommend. Additionally, are there any specific tools or techniques that should be used for this repair? Any advice or additional information would be greatly appreciated.