DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hello Everybody,

if anybody has any ideas, because I am flummoxed right now ... I repaired a very wobbly mixed tap in the kitchen by first shutting off the main water supply and then closing the two valves, the hot and cold, under the sink. I then disconnected the two hoses from the valves so as to remove the old fastening kit and then fit the new one.

Once the tap was back to its original, non-wobbly state, I reattached the two hoses to the valves. Then I turned the main water supply back on and checked it: the hot and cold water supply was back in the bathroom.

I then turned the two valves under the kitchen sink back on. The hot water supply was perfect. But there was now no longer any cold water running to the tap! To check, I turned both valves back off again, disconnected the cold water hose and then very carefully turned the cold water valve back on, with a bucket underneath just in case... Dry as a bone!

I have been in touch with the tap manufacturer and it is most definitely not the cartridge. All that I did with regard to the cold water supply in the kitchen was shut off the main valve, shut off the valve under the sink, remove one end of the hose for a few minutes, then replace it and turn the water supply back on. Nothing else was touched.

Can anybody explain in simple terms what has happened and how I can best rectify it? That is, restore the cold water supply to the kitchen. Because washing up with only the hot is really painful!

With thanks in advance,

Ripsnorter.

Hi ripsnorter
If you have mains cold and tank fed hot, the most likely problem is that your mains valve has stuck in the off position.
Regards S

stoneyboy wrote:Hi ripsnorter
If you have mains cold and tank fed hot, the most likely problem is that your mains valve has stuck in the off position.
Regards S

Hi stoneyboy,

thank you for getting in touch. I don't know if I have mains cold and/or tank fed hot, but there is cold water in the bathroom again so I doubt it is the mains valve. But from what you say it could be that the cold valve under the sink is stuck in the off position, even though the tap attached to it, the one that turns on and off the supply, itself turns freely. In which case it is possible I now need to replace this part. I'll take a look and get some more information but if it's beyond me and my toolset then I'll get a pro in.

All the best,
R.

Happy day! I've fixed it, folks! I removed the the tap, gave the spindle beneath a bit of encouragement with a pair of grips, it cooperated and now everything is back as it was, which is just as well since washing up with scalding water was losing its attraction. Certainly a learning experience: basically my going the very long way round to get to somewhere very close by!