If you are responsible for maintenance around your home or your main water lines, you might need to adjust or tighten your faucet mounting nuts.
Tightening a faucet mounting nuts can seem like a simple job until you discover that it won’t budge no matter what you do. Solving this problem can save you from breaking your faucet.
However, this is easier said than done. It requires the right tools and techniques to remove these nuts. Here’s a guide on how to loosen faucet mounting nuts.
Removing Faucet Mounting Nuts
After you’ve removed the escutcheon, handles, and decorative nuts above the faucet body, you can access or loosen the mounting nut below.
Even stubborn mounting nuts can be a problem, but the situation may become even more problematic when adding plastic to the mix. So if you have a stuck faucet nut that cannot budge, here are a few techniques you may attempt to release the mounting nuts.
It’s crucial to note that some of these ways will ruin the nut. In case you want to maintain the faucet assembly, you’ll need to get a replacement.
Method 1: Use a basin wrench
This is a valuable tool to have while working on faucets. It can reach tight locations, such as those beneath the sink, where a standard wrench would be unable to move.
Here is what you need:
- Headlamp
- Basin wrench
Before dismantling the faucet, remember to turn off the water valve. Next, open the faucet to drain the water. It’s easier to work if you’ve wiped out the cabinet or sink behind your faucet first.
To access and fix plumbing problems, it’s a good idea to wear a headlamp with light that shines on the pipes.
Ensure the water supply has been turned off and the cabinet under which pipes are located has been cleaned. After opening the wrench jaws, preposition the pipe wrench is necessary to hook onto the nut underneath.
Get a good, firm grip on the wrench handle and hold it in place. First, try to spin the nut counterclockwise as much as you can. Then, slowly go of your hold on the tool to allow it to impale the nut.
In addition, you can grab it with both hands if your hands are below and beside the sink itself.
Faucet mounting nuts can be a real nuisance as they sometimes get stuck (gross), and wrenches cannot firmly grab onto them in such cases. If this happens, think about other methods below.
Method 2: Try a screwdriver & a hammer
Plastic nibs run along the surface of several mount nuts. Although they hinder the basin wrench from completing its work, they give a place for a flat-head screwdriver to be wedged.
Here is what you need:
- Headlamp
- Hammer
- Flat-head screwdriver
Insert the flat-head screwdriver into the plastic nibs. Tap the screwdriver end with a hammer to release the nut. Getting a correct angle with the screwdriver may be difficult. Still, if you can move it perpendicularly to the washer, you might release the nut.
Older sinks, especially if they haven’t been used in a while, may have mineral deposits in the faucet mount nut, making removal difficult. In this instance, the best bet is to try unscrewing it in the opposite direction to get the clumps of minerals out.
Method 3: Heat
Heat is a valuable tool when removing problematic plastic faucet mount bolts. You can use heat in combination with one of the above methods to loosen and remove the nut.
Here is what you need:
- A heat gun, propane torch, or hairdryer.
- Flame resistant fabric (if you’re using anything flammable)
When removing a stubborn nut, using a propane torch can help make removal as fast and easy as possible, but before using it, take precautions.
Ensure that anything near the nut is not flammable, and if your heat source can work with metals, be sure to test the device beforehand – it’s better to do this in advance than change torches halfway through!
While waiting for the nut to cool, you can either use one of the methods above or leave it overnight and try the next day again.
Method 4: Cut through the nut
You may use a reciprocating saw or hacksaw to cut through the nut when everything else fails.
Here is what you need:
- Hacksaw or reciprocating saw
- Protective gear
- Flat-head screwdriver
Using the saw, make a vertical cut up through the nut. Pry the ends apart with the flat-head screwdriver wedged inside the crack. The nut should come off quickly.
FAQs
- How do you remove a stuck faucet mounted nut?
To remove a nut underneath the sink, you should slip the curved jaws of the wrench over the nut and turn the wrench’s handle in a counterclockwise direction.
As you do this, be sure that your handgrip is tight to prevent slipping. Once you have a good grip on the wrench, try to turn it by pushing down with all of your weight against it.
- How do you loosen a slip nut?
You could try loosening it with a standard wrench. It should spin but will be very tight. There are several ways to do this. One way is to get a pipe wrench and slip the pipe on the slip nut, then tighten the pipe wrench on the slip nut. Another way is to get a small set of vice grips. Then you would place the slip nut inside the jaws of the Vice Grips and twist.
- How do you loosen a plastic wing nut?
Crushing the plastic wing nut with a wrench will not work because you will end up damaging the wing nut and the threads. The most straightforward technique to handle this problem is using a solid solvent to dissolve the plastic. After that, you can use a wrench to loosen the nut.
Conclusion
Overall, many people have difficulty loosening or tightening these nuts and give up because they don’t know how to solve this problem.
We hope that this post has helped you learn how to loosen faucet mounting nuts. Feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.
