Hello,

For about a week I have not been able to get cold water from my kitchen faucet. The water pressure is fine. It is a single handle faucet. When I turn it to hot, the water is hot. When I turn it to cold, the water is hotter than before. I have kept it running to see if the water would eventually get cold but it does not. In my bathroom I have a two-handle faucet, and when I turn on the cold water there, it runs warm for about ten seconds and then gets cold like normal.

I live on the first floor of a six-unit apartment building that has fairly old plumbing, from what I can tell, but I'm really no expert. I have no idea whether this is happening to anyone else in my building. Just really curious as to what could be causing the problem.

Thanks.

Sounds like the cartridge has failed and it is not your responsibility to repair. Call your landlord and ask for a repair. Don't take it apart yourself, you could be liable if you make a costly mistake.

What cartridge? Is that part of the faucet?

One other thing I forgot to mention: both of the pipes under the sink are hot to the touch when the water is running. So if the cartridge you mentioned is part of the faucet, I'm not sure that's the culprit.

The cartridge is inside the faucet, it is the valve mechanism. Since both pipes are hot I'm not thinking cartridge anymore. Now I'm thinking someone worked on the buildings plumbing and screwed something up. In any case, it isn't your job to corrected it. Management would likely be happy to correct a plumbing problem that is wasting their heated water, call them.

Do you have a washing machine? If so turn off the cutoff valves in the wall behind the washer, then try the water in the sink. If this makes the hot and cold run the way they are suppose to you will need a water valve in your washing machine.

Well, that's interesting because the building's washer and dryer are in the basement, directly underneath my kitchen sink. And yesterday I was going to do a cold water wash load, but the water was steaming as it came into the washer.

My landlord is bringing in a plumber next week; I'll suggest he take a look at whether the washer is affecting my kitchen.

There's a definite cross connection somewhere. Could be in the washer mixing valve,( Take letmetellu's advice and shut off the washer supply valves and check) or in the piping itself. Has any work been on the pipes lately? Good luck,Tom

Two weeks ago there was a plumber in the building to address an issue with the hot water heater. But right after he was there, everything was normal; it wasn't until several days later that the cold water problem started happening.

Somewhere, some plumber is hanging his head. This is too much of a coincidence.