TOTO Faucet repair

Kitchen-sink cartridge faucets seem to have about a ten-year life span. When we bought the house, it was a bit over ten years old, and the faucet was shot, and replaced in the course of remodelling the kitchen. I was wondering lately whether we maybe had stumbled into a more durable unit, but sure enough it recently began needing a little tap on the handle to keep it from dripping.

A quick search for the TOTO model number (TKJ32UBKRF) on DuckDuckGo yielded the part number of the cartridge (THY582N), and a search for the pair on YouTube landed an energetic video helpfully illustrating the steps for replacement. The cartridge itself was about ¥9,000 (maybe a dollar fifty or so at current exchange ☹️).

A kitchen faucet, with a replacement cartridge, still in its wrapping, standing next to it in the basin’s soap tray.
A kitchen faucet, with a replacement cartridge, still in its wrapping, standing next to it in the basin’s soap tray.

Those with a weak stomach should probably not dismantle one of these things immediately before mealtime. Ten years of use, whatever the level of care taken by the cook, can leave a lot of bacteria-infested black gunk in the inevitable crevices. It washes right off, though, and fortunately there were buckets of accumulated rainwater outside to use for the scrubbing.

The parts of a dismantled cartridge faucent lying in a stainless steel kitchen sink: the handle to control the faucet; the screw-on cover that holds the cartridge in place; the cartridge; and a pair of needle-nose pliers. The first two items are smeared in places with black goo.
The parts of a dismantled cartridge faucent lying in a stainless steel kitchen sink: the handle to control the faucet; the screw-on cover that holds the cartridge in place; the cartridge; and a pair of needle-nose pliers. The first two items are smeared in places with black goo.