At first, shut off your water supply lines by turning the valves under your sink clockwise. Look for two short braided lines connecting hot and cold valves with a spout tee.
Most faucets come equipped with a kit and instructions from their respective manufacturer, and it is important that you read these carefully to understand how your specific model operates.
Disconnect the Water Supply Lines
If your bathroom faucet is leaking, the cause could be anything from a loose shutoff valve to an issue with its supply tube. If a simple tightening doesn’t resolve this problem, replacement might be needed.
Turn off all water valves beneath the sink; some require special keys. Place a bucket or basin below pipes so as to catch any unintentionally spilled water.
Start by disconnecting the water supply tubes from the faucet shanks – these could either be flexible braided lines or rigid chromed copper tubes – using needle-nose pliers or tubing cutter. If they’re soldered directly onto shutoff valves, needle-nose pliers or tubing cutter will help break them loose from their connection points.
Unscrew the slip nut from the P-trap pipe underneath your sink, usually located to the right side of the drain flange where it connects with a horizontal pivot rod coming out of the drain. If it has a spring clip securing it to it, pinch it to release it from its hold on the flange.
Remove the Faucet
Your faucet may be secured to its base using two large threaded stems connected by small nuts. To loosen them, pliers with needle-nose ends can help, as can a basin wrench with its long handle which allows you to turn for loosening or tightening action – this works especially well when reaching under sinks to disengage any nuts connecting water lines to the faucet.
Your old faucet may use a cartridge system. In this instance, to take care in undoing and pulling out its screws rustily held together by penetrating oil before trying to loosen them and pull out.
Once the old faucet has been taken apart, installation of its replacement should commence. Before beginning, however, be sure to reclose all water valves before reconnecting all supply lines.
Unscrew the Mounting Nuts
To remove an old faucet, first unscrew each metal nut securing each handle and its plate to the counter, which are often made of brass and secured using plumber’s putty.
If the nut is completely covered in white lime deposits or rust, use a wire brush to clean away as much of it as possible before spraying penetrating oil onto it and leaving it for several hours to soak into its pores.
Once a nut is loose, unscrew it by hand from underneath the sink using a special tool called a basin wrench or faucet swap-out wrench. These tools have long plastic or metal handles with tees at one end that let you grab onto various parts of the sink quickly to turn or unfasten nuts in tight quarters.
Clear out the area under your sink and place a bucket to collect any liquid that might leak from it during this process.
Remove the Old Faucet
If you’re replacing a modern cartridge-style faucet, it may be best to discard rather than attempt to repair the existing model. Newer models are simpler and provide greater warranties.
Before beginning work on your sink, be sure to shut off all water supply valves. It is imperative that this step be completed prior to any attempt at installation or renovations.
Employing a wrench, unscrew the mounting nuts that hold the tailpieces onto the sink. If this proves ineffective, try applying some penetrating oil instead.
Once the nuts have been loosed, tailpieces can be detached from the faucet body by turning them counterclockwise.
Label the two copper pipes leading into your sink so that you know which are hot and which are cold. Also use a tube bender to gently bend one of them so it sits more vertically; this will prevent it from kinking and potentially leaking.