Leaking faucets in the kitchen or bathroom can be very dangerous. If such a device even just started to get a little wet, soon a flood will happen in the apartment with a high degree of probability. And this, in turn, can lead to damage to property not only of the property owners themselves, but also of the neighbor's.
The mixer that has become unusable should be changed immediately. In this case, it is best to entrust such work to a specialist. But, of course, often property owners are also interested in how to remove the faucet from the sink on their own. Of course, you can try to make such a procedure with your own hands. However, in this case, you need to follow all the required technologies exactly.
How to choose a new faucet
When deciding to replace the faucet in the kitchen or bathroom on your own, first of all, of course, you need to take care of buying a new faucet. In this case, of course, you should choose the right model.
Buy for a bath or kitchen subject to self-replacement, including experts advise faucets as simple as possible. Mount such a mixer, and inlater if necessary and remove it, it will be less difficult.
Also, when choosing a tap, be sure to pay attention to the brand of the manufacturer. Best of all, if it is famous and popular. In the future, if necessary, it will be easier to pick up spare parts for such a mixer.
The most durable types of sink faucets are brass. Such models are relatively inexpensive. However, for self-installation, experienced craftsmen do not recommend purchasing them. Brass is a fairly soft material. And therefore, it is very easy to break the thread in any assembly made from it with the wrong actions. For self-installation, it is still better to choose a stainless steel faucet. Such models, although they are more expensive than brass ones, have an increased margin of safety.
Quite often, bronze faucets are also installed in houses and apartments. Such models are even more expensive than steel ones and have the longest service life. It is quite difficult to damage the threads in a bronze mixer. Therefore, for self-installation, you can optionally choose such a model. Most often, apartment owners purchase taps, of course, separately. However, nowadays you can buy a whole set of sink faucets at once. Most often in such sets there are faucets of the same design, designed for bath and sink. Also, such kits may include models for a shower cabin.
Main types by design
How to remove the faucet from the sink with your own hands, let's talk a little lower. To begin with, let's figure out what kind of design such plumbing equipment can have.
According to the method of operation, the following types of mixers are currently distinguished:
- with valve taps;
- with ball lever;
- with lever cartridge.
Models with faucets are considered the easiest to install. However, in terms of ease of use, they are inferior to lever ones. For self-installation, faucets with valve taps are best suited. But if you want to install it yourself, you can also try a crane with a lever.
Faucets can be mounted on the sink in two ways:
- directly to the pipes;
- through flexible hoses.
How to remove the faucet from the sink: preparations
Before you start dismantling the faucet in the kitchen or bathroom, be sure to shut off the general water supply. Of course, it is impossible to start dismantling without performing such a procedure. Otherwise, a flood will simply happen in the apartment. In the combined bathrooms of old houses, common HV and HV taps are usually located nearby - on the corresponding pipes at the entrance to the apartment. Also, the HV tap can be in the bathroom, and the HV tap can be in the toilet (for separate bathrooms).
In houses of a very old construction, common taps directly in the apartments are often not provided at all. In this case, before performing the procedure for replacing the mixer, you will have to call the housing and communal services and ask them to send a master to turn off the valves of the common water pipes in the basement. Before that, you will needwarn all neighbors that, due to a malfunction, they will have to be left without cold and hot water for a while.
After the general taps are closed, you need to unscrew the valve of the old mixer and drain the water remaining in the pipes. Then you can proceed to the actual dismantling of the crane itself.
What materials and tools will be required
In order to remove the old faucet in the kitchen or bathroom and install a new one, you need to prepare:
- adjustable plumbing wrench and several open-end wrenches;
- screwdriver;
- sealing tape.
In the joints of old mixers, parts due to rust often stick strongly to each other. Therefore, scale softener will also be a necessary purchase for those who are thinking about the question of how to remove the faucet from the sink. The necessary tools and materials must be prepared in advance in full. This will make your work easier and more productive later on.
Water pipes: what you need to know
Water can be supplied to plumbing equipment through pipes made of different materials. Most often, for water supply in high-rise and low-rise buildings, steel or polypropylene lines are stretched in our time. In the latter case, the replacement of the faucet in the sink in the bathroom or in the kitchen should be done as carefully as possible. Too much strength to mechanical stress and pressure, polypropylene lines, unfortunately, do not differ. Atunscrewing / tightening the nuts of the crane, such pipes must be held by the adapter with a wrench. In any case, it is impossible to twist polypropylene when performing work.
Steel, as a much stronger material, can be handled with less care. But still, too much effort when tightening / unscrewing the nuts in this case should also not be applied.
Dismantling the crane
So let's see how to remove the faucet from the sink. Once all the necessary materials have been prepared, you can proceed to the actual procedure for replacing the crane. The dismantling of an old mixer, both ball and lever, is usually done as follows:
- put some container under the sink or put a dry rag (a little water remains in the taps even after it is drained from the pipes);
- simultaneously loosen the fixing nuts on the eccentrics of the hot water and cold water valves;
- unscrew the nuts to the end and remove the old faucet from the sink.
Very often, as already mentioned, nuts in water taps stick to eccentrics. Too much effort when unscrewing them in this case, of course, is not necessary. If the nuts are stuck, you should:
- wet some rag liberally with rust softener;
- wrap a rag around the nut;
- wait a while;
- remove the rag from the faucet attachment point.
Next, you need to try to unscrew the nuts again.
According to the technology described above, you candismantle any taps directly attached to the pipes. It can be a sink faucet (long or short spout), a model with a shower, valve, with a lever. The main difficulty in dismantling such taps from the sink lies precisely in the need to unscrew the stuck nuts. Otherwise, the procedure for removing mixers attached to pipes, as you can see, is extremely simple.
How to install new hardware
So we figured out how to remove the faucet from the sink. The procedure for dismantling such plumbing equipment is therefore simple. The home master just needs to unscrew the nuts, disconnecting the mixer from the pipes. How to install a new faucet on the sink? Such an operation is also a fairly simple set of actions. Before performing such work, the purchased crane may have to be pre-assembled, guided by the instructions from the manufacturer.
So, let's see how to install the faucet on the sink correctly? The installation of such equipment is usually carried out as follows:
- wrap Teflon tape around the ends of the adapters on the pipes;
- install the valve in place and simultaneously bait nuts on the eccentrics of the HV and HV;
- wrap the nuts with electrical tape in order not to scratch their surface;
- tighten the nuts as tightly as possible.
At the final stage of installation, open the general taps and check the operation of the mixer.
How to unscrew the faucet with hoses from the sink
Such models of cranes are also quite commoninstalled in kitchens or bathroom sinks. Their dismantling is a somewhat more complicated procedure than removing mixers simply attached to the pipes from the sink. To remove such a crane, you need:
- turn off the general valves and drain the water from the pipes;
- disconnect sewer pipes and siphon;
- put a basin under the sink or put a rag;
- unscrew the flexible wires from the hot water and cold water pipes using a plumbing adjustable wrench;
- clean the old sealant from the inlet pipe fittings.
Next, you can begin to unwind the lower fasteners of the crane. This stage in the procedure for dismantling a mixer with hoses can be considered the most difficult. Unwinding in this case is usually performed as follows:
- lubricate the threads of the pins with the nuts screwed onto them with a rust softening liquid;
- after a while, the nuts are completely unscrewed.
Next step:
- pull the faucet out of the sink as far as possible;
- at the bottom of the faucet body unscrew the flexible hoses from the outlets using pliers;
- pull up the entire crane;
- clean the place under the faucet both from below and above the sink from deposits.
It is better not to throw away the crane dismantled in this way, but to disassemble it for spare parts. Perhaps the details of the old mixer will come in handy in the future. Install a new faucet with hoses or an old one after repair in place simply by performing the steps in reverse order. Carving, of course,lay with sealing tape.
Dismantling shower faucet
This procedure can also be considered relatively simple and do-it-yourself. Shower faucets consist of several basic structural elements:
- plated metal case;
- cartridge responsible for the actual water supply;
- holder - a fastener connecting the faucet body with the facade of the shower cabin;
- handwheels-handles;
- divertor, which is an intermediate element between the tap and the main cartridge.
Before dismantling such a mixer, as in all other cases, first shut off the water supply to the apartment. Next, drain the water from the pipes and perform the actual disassembly of the tap:
- remove the decorative plug located at the bottom of the faucet body;
- unscrew the screw holder with a screwdriver;
- remove the faucet handle;
- remove decorative overlays from the mixer;
- below, under the mixer, pull the plates towards you and put them aside;
- carefully unscrew the fasteners holding the panel;
- on the back of the shower cabin unscrew the nut and remove the faucet together with the sealing collar.
At the next stage, the vacated space is cleaned, dried and treated with silicone sealant. Installation of a new faucet or a renovated old one in the shower cabin is as follows:
- insert the cartridge into special grooves;
- fix the device on the cabin wall.
After installing the faucet, it must be checked for operability and the absence of leaks.
How to disassemble a single lever mixer
Remove faucets in the kitchen or bathroom, usually in order to replace them with new ones. But it often happens that the mixer has to be unscrewed simply in order to repair it. Difficulties for a beginner in this case can be caused mainly by disassembling the ball mixer. How to properly repair such models?
To remove the handle of a single-lever faucet on the sink, as in the case of a shower cabin, you first need to simply pry off the decorative cap located on the body with a screwdriver and pull it out. Next, unscrew the screw in the opened hole. After the flywheel is removed, you need to remove the cartridge from the tap.
How to disassemble a faucet faucet
Repairing such a kitchen faucet on your own may also not be difficult. Disassemble valve mixers most often in the following order:
- shut off the water supply to the apartment and plug the sink drain with a rag;
- using a screwdriver pry off and pull out the decorative plugs on the valves (red and blue circles);
- unscrew the exposed screws.
At the final stage, when disassembling the valve model, carefully turn out the crane boxes with an adjustable wrench. Next, disassemble the remaining partsdouble-lever basin faucet and check it for blockages, breakage, plaque, etc.
Ways to loosen plumbing nuts
This procedure, as already mentioned, should be done as carefully as possible so as not to damage the pipes. The easiest way to loosen rusted nuts, of course, is to use a special liquid. But what to do if such a tool is not at hand?
Replace the purchased scale softener if necessary with:
- kerosene;
- vinegar and soda.
When using such products, you first need to thoroughly clean the problematic joint with a metal brush, trying to remove all rust and dirt. Next, draw vinegar or kerosene into a syringe and inject under the nut from all sides.
The next step is to wait two hours, leaving the kitchen faucet alone. During this time, the chosen home remedy will eat away the rust and soften it. The nut, thanks to this, most likely, will subsequently unscrew quite easily. If the problem area was treated with vinegar, all parts should be wiped with a soda solution at the final stage.
How to remove the sink
How to change the faucet without removing the sink, we thus found out. The procedure is relatively simple. But sometimes in the kitchen or in the bathroom, in addition to the faucet itself, the sink itself needs to be replaced. Remove the sink and put in its place a new one with your own hands for the home master, and most likely it will not beno labor.
Start to dismantle such plumbing equipment usually as follows:
- turn off the water in the apartment and prepare a bucket and dry rags to remove residual water flowing from the pipes;
- holding the glass of the siphon, unscrew the nut under the sink counterclockwise;
- disconnect the drain pipe from the siphon by unscrewing the top nut;
- remove the wedge washer and nuts from both sides of the drain pipe;
- remove the pipe itself.
After completing these manipulations, they simply pull the siphon out of the sewer socket. Further, according to the technology described above, the mixer is removed from the sink. To dismantle the sink itself, either unscrew the mount holding it, or simply remove the bowl from the stand.
