the cold water faucet is having revenge on me :-(

April 20, 2006 10:50 AM

How do I unstick a faucet without having the whole thing fall apart on me?

old neglected apartment kitchen sink: for a long while I had trouble with the hot water (wasn't hot) so I didn't bother opening the cold water (didn't need any). I finally got the hot water fixed (steaming hot. ouch!) and now the cold water faucet (untouched for months) is stuck (darn!).

I have tried taking off the knob and spraying what seemed to me to be the connections with WD40 to no avail. I have also tried soaking the whole thing in white mineral vinegar (I saw that somewhere. really) with the result only being a vinegar smelling sink.

what now?

posted by mirileh to home & garden (5 comments total)

Are you turning it the wrong way?
Some taps have different directions for hot and cold.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:59 AM on April 20, 2006

Is the faucet brass or chromed? is there a water shut off below the sink? If not you'll probably have to find where you
can shut the water off to work on the valve. How hard is your
water? If you find alot of lime build up in your pots and pans
after boiling water it may be that you can use a product like
lime away to dissolve the mineral build up around the valve
seat.
posted by chivaago at 11:05 AM on April 20, 2006

yeah, it's the right way (it used to open that way). thanks for trying.
posted by mirileh at 11:06 AM on April 20, 2006

How to Fix a Faucet - http://www.eHow.com/how_117402_fix-faucet.html
posted by chivaago at 11:11 AM on April 20, 2006

chivaago, here i go:

very hard water (a lot of lime buildup) and it's a very simple metal faucet. i think i have to shut off the water to the whole apartment to work on it :-(.

i didn't think of the lime away direction. sounds like something i should try.
posted by mirileh at 11:16 AM on April 20, 2006