Tongue and groove pliers
Needle nose pliers
In this video, This Old House plumbing and heating contractor Richard Trethewey explains how to repair a kitchen sink sprayer.
Steps:
1. Turn off hot- and cold-water at the shut-off valves under sink.
2. Loosen cap behind faucet’s spout with pliers; protect chrome cap with a rag.
3. Remove cap and stuff the rag into the sink’s drain.
4. Use a quarter to loosen the old diverter.
5. Pull out the old diverter and its rubber gasket with needle-nose pliers.
6. Wrap Teflon tape around threads of new diverter.
7. Carefully thread the new diverter into place; tighten it with the quarter.
8. Remove rag covering the drain.
9. Tighten the cap over the diverter using pliers and a protective rag.
10. Turn on the water, test the sprayer.
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On one Ask This Old House visit, homeowners Rick and Jean had been living with a broken kitchen sprayer for about five years. Rick had already tried replacing both the nozzle and the hose — but the real culprit turned out to be the diverter hidden inside the faucet body. It’s a common scenario: the diverter is often the last part homeowners think to check, but it’s frequently the first thing to fail.
Pro Tip: Richard Trethewey, This Old House plumbing and heating expert, notes that when a diverter goes bad, you’ll notice one of three things: “not enough water at the faucet spout, not enough water at the spray hose, or crazy hammering when the spray hose is used.”
