How To Replace a Faucet

Put on your safety glasses. Locate the shut-off valve for the faucet you are replacing and turn off the water. Most likely, it is a handle under the sink that needs to be turned clockwise. There might be two: one for hot and one for cold.

Turn on the faucet until all remaining water in the pipes flows out.

Locate the water supply lines under the sink. Place a bucket under the lines and use a crescent wrench to loosen the nuts and disconnect the lines that attach to the faucet.

If your faucet has a pop-up plug for the drain, unscrew the piece underneath the sink that connects the faucet to the plug mechanism.

Using your crescent wrench (or basin wrench, if it’s a tight squeeze), loosen the nuts located underneath the sink below the faucet handles.

Pull the faucet body up to remove it. Clean and dry the mounting surface with a non-abrasive cleaner.

Remove the nuts from your new faucet. Install the faucet base gasket, if included with your new faucet, or apply a bead of plumber’s putty to the base plate of the new faucet. Then slide the unit into the proper holes. Screw on the nuts and tighten the faucet into place.

Connect the supply lines to the new faucet. Be sure hot and cold are connected to the correct sides—hot water on the left, cold water on the right.

If necessary, reconnect the drain plug attachment.

Unscrew the faucet aerator—the part at the tip of the spout. Turn on the water supply and run the water to flush out any dirt. Check for leaks. Most are caused by loose nuts and can be fixed simply by tightening the nut. If that doesn’t work, try applying a bit of pipe joint compound to the fitting. Reinstall the faucet aerator, and you’re done!