Hi,
I have a Damixa Morez Mono Kitchen Mixer Tap which has only been installed for about a year. The neck has become very stiff to move. It is now so bad that when I try to move it the whole tap unit twists. I am now wary of trying to move the neck as I am afraid I may break one of the solder joints under the sink.
I have tried taking out the neck and lubricating the base it sits in with car grease but this has not worked.
Can anybody help?
TIA
Bren
I'm not familiar with that brand, but it shouldn't be terribly different than Delta, Moen, etc. When you remove the neck, feel inside the ring that fits over the base. See if it feels rough. If it does, it's due to one of two things:
1) Mineral buildup. If you can scrape a little off with your fingernail, that's what it is. Soak the thing in warm, undiluted white vinegar, taking out out occasionally to rub off the minerals. Don't use metal scouring pads to help it off - you might etch the insides of the ring and make it worse. A medium toothbrush is good for this. 2) Rough metal because of lousy materials or manufacturing. The solution to this is up to you.You should've seen one or two O-rings around the base when you removed the neck. They're cheap, so you may as well replace them as long as you've got the thing disassembled. Any real hardware store will have them. Delta and Moen sell rebuild kits for their faucets, but I have no idea about yours.
Also, try posting to this group:
UK.D-I-Y
Jim
I should have said I'm in the UK. I did try posting to UK D-I-Y but got no replies - also, I live in a hard water area. The tap has ceramic valves
Bren
Ceramic valves sound interesting. Minerals won't cling to them & crystallize?
I've just tried to lift the neck off the bloc to check for mineral deposits and it seems to have jammed solid. I can twist it if I hold the base of the tap tightly with one hand but it takes a lot of pressure to move the neck. If I pull the neck any harder the whole sinktop will separate from the unit. Could the car grease or a mineral build up cause this? I am now thinking of ripping the whole tap out and fitting a replacement.
Bren
Bren, try moving the tap around an inch or two at a time, and then lifting, almost as if it were attached with a bayonet-mount sort of arrangement. Perhaps it's developed some sort of a burr or rough edge that's snagging inside.
If you decide to replace it, shop backwards. In other words, begin by investigating which brands offer a rebuild kit. Not something you need to order from the manufacturer, but right there in the plumbing parts area of the store. I don't know if Moen and Delta are sold there, but if they are, both companies offer these kits. They consist of the most commonly worn-out parts, and they're cheap. If you have to jump through flaming hoops to find parts for the new faucet, you're buying the wrong one. And, since you have hard water, you *know* your going to have to fiddle with the faucet every couple of years.
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