Thoughts on mixer or double taps for toilet wash basin

[youngadult109]

Hello all,

Which is actually better? Mixer taps or double (i.e. two individual, cold and hot taps) for wash basins in the toilets?

I've always thought that a mixer tap is the modern thing and it'll be more convenient especially during the winter. However, we recently put an offer on a 6-year-old house, and it has double taps in all the wash basins (but mixer for the kitchen). Is there a good reason behind this?

Although this wasn't a deal breaker for us, would like advise on whether or not we should change it if we do move in next time. If we'd like to change it, what's the usual cost or what other details we'll need to look into i.e. piping? Is this something that we can DIY?

Many thanks!

have you got a cold water tank in the loft?

If so, and the hot taps are fed from the tank, and the cold taps off the main, don't use a mixer, especially one with ceramic disks and a joystick.

Kitchen mixers are specially made to prevent pollution of the drinking water.

If you have no tank, but a combi boiler or an unvented cylinder such as a Megaflo, you can have a mixer.

Whats the problem with mixer taps? We have one in our en suite and it seems fine. I don't know what a joystick is - we can turn the hot and cold on individually, but they come out of one tap not two iykwim. We have a cold tank in the loft and a hot water cylinder in our airing cupboard.

The main family bathroom has a sink with two separate taps on the basin. When you wash your hands one tap is freezing cold and the other too hot, so we were thinking of switching to a mixer tap, but if Piglet John say no then I wouldn't dare

I just don't see what the problem is, please explain

"have you got a cold water tank in the loft?
If so, and the hot taps are fed from the tank, and the cold taps off the main..."

Because, in that case, the cold is at high (mains) pressure and the hot is at low (tank) pressure, so they are unbalanced and the temperature control will not work properly. In the event of a joystick mixer having a particular fault due to wear, the high-pressure cold will leak into the hot pipes and cause an overflow.

@PigletJohn what about a mixer tap with two separate ''turners'' i.e. turn hot and cold water individually but the water still comes out from a same tap? Will that be a problem as well?

Thanks a lot!

I like separate taps but it does seem to be and unfasionable view. Have removed the bath mixer in our en suite.

separate heads should not have that problem, but if the pressures are unbalanced, it will be difficult to adjust to a comfortable temperature (especially bad on showers)

Separate taps are a lot cheaper than a mixer, that's probably what the housebuilder had in mind. Mixer tap is a bit more convenient in hand washing basin but I wouldn't think enough to justify ripping the basin out.

I prefer mixer taps mostly because the hot water is often far too hot from a single tap and it becomes tricky to wash your hands without darting between hot and cold water.
Much easier for children too IMO.

We've lived in a house with a mixer tap in the bathroom sink and I found it annoying, because my and DP regularly share the sink of an evening, which means there's often one brushing their teeth while the other washes their face/hands. With the mixer we couldn't share without getting on each others nerves!

Nice for hand washing if your boiler is set to steam though!

Depends how you use your sink I guess.

if you can go for mixer taps. but as piglet explains it doesn't work for all systems.