How to Replace a Faucet

Step by Step

1. Clear space below the sink and turn off the water by turning the angle stops clockwise. Open the faucets to drain water in the lines. There's always a little water left, however, so have a sponge and bucket handy.

2. Remove the old faucet. Crawl under the sink and look up at the underside of the set-up. You'll see hot and cold supply tubes connected to nuts on the underside of each faucet stem. To loosen those nuts voila! the basin wrench. As you'll see in the animation, you loosen the nuts by turning the wrench counterclockwise. Also disconnect the drain pop-up lever, which will be fastened with a setscrew or a spring clip you squeeze to release.

3. Push the supply tubes aside, and use the basin wrench to remove the locknuts on each side of the faucet. Once on your feet again, lift the old faucet out and clean away any crud that has accrued over the years. If the old faucet was seated in plumber's putty or a gasket, for example, use a putty knife to clean up the surface.

4. Install the new faucet. Following the manufacturer's instructions, use your basin wrench to tighten down the new faucet. Have a friend hold the faucet in place so it doesn't get cockeyed while you tighten it from below.

5. Reattach supply tubes. If your supply tubes aren't stainless-steel-jacketed flexible supply tubes, now's the time to add them. They're inexpensive, far superior to solid copper or flexible plastic, and easy to connect and disconnect. Besides, old lines often drip when reattached.

6. To finish, sponge up any dribbled water, reconnect the drain pop-up, turn on the angle stops, remove the faucet aerator, and run the water, hot and cold, to flush out the lines. This eliminates any loose pipe scale that may be present. When the water runs clear, replace the aerator and enjoy your new faucet.