How to fix shower faucet?

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Answer
To fix a shower faucet that is only providing hot or cold water, the most common issue is a problem with the mixer valve inside the faucet. Here are the steps to replace the mixer valve cartridge:
  1. Turn off the main water supply to the house and turn on the shower faucet to relieve pressure in the system
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  2. Remove the faucet handle and unscrew the trim collar to access the valve
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  3. Unscrew the valve retaining nut and pull out the old valve cartridge
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  4. Match the new replacement cartridge to the faucet brand and model number. Moen cartridges are numbered like 1222 or 1222B
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  5. Apply plumber's grease to the o-rings on the new cartridge and insert it into the faucet body, aligning the tabs on the cartridge with the slots in the faucet
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  6. Reinstall the retaining nut, trim collar and handle. Turn the water back on and check for leaks
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If the faucet is still not functioning properly after replacing the cartridge, check for any debris or hard water deposits that may be clogging the faucet
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Soak the cartridge in vinegar overnight if needed to remove buildup2. If the issue persists or occurs in multiple faucets, the problem may be with the main water supply line being turned off or a leak in the plumbing system4. Consult a professional plumber if you are unable to resolve the problem.




Author: 42 Pursuit



Key insights

  • Issues with the mixer valve can cause problems with the temperature and flow of water in the shower, requiring a specific replacement part.
  • The process of removing the old mixer valve and installing the new one requires some specific tools and careful handling.
  • Creative problem-solving can be the key to resolving tricky plumbing issues.
  • It's important to be careful not to weaken the joints of the hot and cold lines when removing the cartridge.
  • Make sure to check for hard water deposits or blockages in the tube before replacing the valve cartridge.
  • Reversing the hot and cold lines can fix the problem of a shower faucet only being hot or cold.
  • Replacing the valve cartridge can fix the issue of a shower faucet only being hot or cold.

Timestamped Summary

  • 00:00 Replace the mixer valve on a shower faucet if there's a problem with hot or cold water flow, and make sure to turn off the main water supply before starting.
  • 01:27 Replace the valve cartridge in the shower faucet to fix the issue of only getting hot or cold water.
  • 02:55 Replace valve cartridge in shower faucet by using creative method with sticks and vice grips.
  • 03:28 Replace the valve cartridge by wiggling and twisting it to remove it without weakening any joints.
  • 04:25 Replace the valve cartridge to fix a shower faucet that only gives hot or cold water.
  • 04:35 Replace the valve cartridge in the shower faucet to fix issues with hot or cold water.
  • 05:21 Reversing hot and cold lines can troubleshoot the issue with the shower faucet.
  • 05:37 Replace valve cartridge to fix shower faucet that is only hot or cold, and make sure to flip the core 180 degrees if hot and cold are backwards.

Video Full Text

  • 00:00 Hi there welcome to 42 pursuit. Today. We're gonna be replacing the mixer valve on low-end style shower faucet. We recently moved into this house and when we went to use the shower we realized there was a problem with a faucet plenty of cold water but when you turn it up to the hot water it goes down to a trickle. Let me demonstrate plenty of cold up to hot very little hot water so there's a problem. Your. Faucet may be exhibiting similar characteristics or some combination of not enough hot water we're not enough cold water or not enough of either that's likely due to an issue with me mixer valve inside of the faucet itself you'll need to pick up a core that's designed for your specific faucet don't be afraid to shop around because the one that I picked up was about half the price of the ones that I found on Amazon so the brand on this faucet was kind of hard to find at first. But I was able to look up underneath the bottom of the handle where it says Mullen so that was a good starting point. The old part number for this mixer valve is a nine six nine zero nine and the new part number for the mixer valve is a twelve 22 or twelve twenty to be made by Moen. First step in this process is to turn off the main water supply to the house turn on your closest working faucet to relieve the pressure in the system.
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  • 01:27 Both hot and cold and just leave that on to be on the safe side turn this on make sure you're getting a water through if you have a drain that can close close that now so you don't lose any screws down your drain. Depending on the model of the boss that you have taking it. Apart can be a little bit different but the gist of it is you can remove the handle and then remove the cover plate. The handle on this one is held by an Allen screw up through the bottom so grab an element and back that all the way out alright so and as I has a center screw and two screws holding the front plate on. Now you can make the front plate off and then slide the plastic piece and the sleeve around the mixer valve off and set those aside next grab yourself a pair of needle nose pliers and use them to pull out this retaining clip from the top set. That aside and your new mixer valve should include this plastic piece which will help you remove the old mixer valve pop that off the new one you got and slip it over the front and then grab it with some pliers or vice grips and give it a little bit of a twist either way.
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  • 02:55 20 minutes late. Now this one broke which means that core was wedged in there pretty good. If you don't have that usually you can take some vice grips and just grab the core and firmly but being careful pull it straight out. Neither one of those methods were working very well for me and so I had to be creative. So I got two sticks and then I carved the corners down to kind of make a Halfmoon shape stuck those in on either side and then using the vice.
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  • 03:28 Grips grabbed those from either side and from the top and bottom and tried to wiggle it back and forth left and right because there's kind of a wedge shape at the top and the bottom. So if you can twist this it will pull itself out after wrestling with it for quite. A few minutes finally got it to make some headway and that brings us to this moment right. Now I should be able to just grab this with vice grips and pull it back and carefully. Now you want to make sure you're not reefing on the main body of it where the hot and the cold lines come in and the faucet and the head connections come out because we don't want to weaken any of those joints so try to grab. It hold it securely and just isolate the core that you're trying to remove from the body.
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  • 04:25 There okay. There we go now from the outside everything looks like. It's.
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  • 04:35 It's working fine but there's clearly an issue somewhere inside all right take a flashlight and look in that tube and make sure there isn't any hard water deposits or anything that could be blocking. The new valve that you're gonna be placing in now grab. Your new mixer valve make sure you keep this area very clean and then it should come with some sort of grease and you want to spread a thin layer of grease. On. Both of these oval rings hopefully make it easier for the next guy to remove if there's a next time. Now one other thing I should make note of earlier. There's usually an HC on your old mixer valve and that is usually up if it's down.
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  • 05:21 Your hot and your cold lines are reversed later on. We'll be able to troubleshoot this so just remember if later on your hot is cold and your cold is hot flip this 180 degrees and that will fix your problem. So we're gonna take this guy. My hot and cold was up.
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  • 05:37 I'm gonna slide that back in nice and gentle well okay grab your new retaining clip and slide that in over the top all the way I'll grab the sleeve slide that back over in the intersection and faceplate now don't tighten this down. Too much just make them snug and the centerpiece and the handle awesome now turn your water mean back on all right water means back on moment of truth. Cold is good and hot is good now remember if you're hot and cold are backwards. So when you turn the cold on if hot water is coming out take that back off and then flip the core 180 degrees and that will fix that problem oh yeah. That's cold oh yeah well. I hope that helps some of you out there thanks for watching.
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