Sticking ceramic valve tap

[colbec23]

Hi
Most questions here seem to be about boilers, so hope it is OK to ask about non central heating realted stuff.

I have a Caple Atlanta monobloc single lever mixer tap, with a lift and swivel mechanism (up/down for flow, left/right for hot/cold). The left/right movement is OK, but the up/down movement is very sticky - I can get the tap to give me minimal flow, and then it jerks up to full flow - given me a fair few wet trouser moments. It seem too sticky to get it to move smoothly from one extreme to the other.

Is there any way I can loosen up the movement, or is there a problem in the ceramic valve? I've seen these online and they seem to be about £15, so not too much, but I don't want to replace it if that's not the source of the problem. I assume I can't add lube without it getting into the water flow?

Any advice appreciated

Thanks

Col

 

[ChrisR]

If that's £15 for a valve, it's a gift.
Hardly worth trying to lube it though you could try silicone grease.
You have to turn the waters off I'm afraid!

 

[Softus]

This doesn't sound a valve problem - more likely to be the swivel joint that provides the handle movement.

You need to remove the handle to find out what's going on underneath it. Hopefully you'll find some debris or a spurious piece of nylon that's interfering with the moment, in the same way that damaged cartilage can cause knee problems.

 

[colbec23]

Wow - you guys are quick off the mark. Thanks for the advice - I'll try cleaning out the innards before buying any spares. BTW, I may have got the wrong price on the valve - so may not be such a bargain!
Col