Kitchen Faucet Tightening: A How To Guide

We all want to save money when possible.  As the owner of Proudfoot Plumbing, Heating and Air, I want you to be able to rely on our services to handle these crazy hard to do jobs that drive most people crazy.  We love jobs that other plumbers think are too hard to do.  We also believe that they are a lot of jobs that you can do yourself.  That’s is why we have this do it yourself series.  It costs us a lot of money to send a truck to your home, stocked with everything we need to do your major repairs for you.  That’s why sometimes it makes sense for you to do it yourself.  Today, I want to talk to you about Kitchen Faucet repair!

Tighten my Kitchen Faucet Handle

The handle of a kitchen faucet can work loose over time.  A loose faucet handle can interfere with the ability of the faucet to turn on and off efficiently.  Tightening the handle will greatly reduce the irritation associated with a loose kitchen faucet.

1. Remove any objects in the sink cabinet that will interfere with your ability to reach the two water supply valves located at the back of the cabinet.  Turn each valve clockwise to shut off the supply.
2. Examine the handle.  You will either find a setscrew with a recessed hex head at the handle base OR decorative caps, snapped onto the top of the handle or handles.
3. Using a correctly sized hex head wrench, slide the end into the setscrew.  Turn the setscrews clockwise until tight.  If you cannot access the setscrew with the handle in the down or “Off” position, lift the handle to the “On” position
4. If you do not find a hex-head setscrew on the faucet handle, apply masking tape to the area around the decorative caps of the faucet handle or handles (Note: do not allow the tape to overlap the edges of the caps).  Slide the tip of a flat-head screwdriver under the edge of the cap.  Gently lift the screwdriver to remove the cap.  Tighten the setscrew located under the cap; clockwise to tighten the handle.  Push the decorative cap back over the opening when the handle is tight. If there are two handles on top of the faucet, remove the cap, tighten the setscrew and replace the cap for the second handle.  Then, remove the masking tape from the top(s) of the handle(s).
5. Turn the water supply valves back on (counter-clockwise) to send water to the faucet.

Tighten my Kitchen Faucet Base

The base of a kitchen faucet can also work loose over time.  A loose base can move freely and cause the water lines supplying the faucet to rupture, causing a leak.  Tightening the base will greatly reduce this irritation associated with a loose kitchen faucet.

1. Remove any objects in the sink cabinet that will interfere with your ability to reach the two water supply valves located at the back of the cabinet.  Turn each valve clockwise to turn off the water supply.  Turn the faucet on to relieve the pressure in the lines from the valves to the faucet.
2. Slide into the cabinet on your back.
3. Aim a flashlight up toward the faucet base.  Use an adjustable wrench to hold the lines to the inlets of the faucet base. Turn the wrench counterclockwise to loosen and remove the supply lines.
4. Now, you will need something called a “basin wrench” (these can be rented for a small fee; info. can be obtained on the internet).  Slide the basin wrench up to one of the nuts holding the base to the sink.  Turn the nut clockwise with the basin wrench until tight.  Tighten the second faucet base nut in the same manner.
5. Reconnect the water lines.  Then, turn the water supply valves back on (counterclockwise) to send water to the faucet.

Need More Help or Guidance?

We hope this helps you with your do-it-yourself job.  If you find you would rather let us do it, or if you find that you have more things wrong than you thought you did (and that happens frequently), please call Proudfoot Plumbing, Heating, and Air.

Or you can check this page out for more information about our plumbing services or reach out to us on the form below.

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