Handywoman 101

UAs I stand there letting out a huge sigh and thinking thank god I'm finally done I can't help but puff out my chest just a little and grin stupidly.  Of course that wasn't the case fifteen minutes ago when I had sweat dripping down my face, grunting with effort as I crawled under and around my sink.  Or even half an hour ago as I stared aghast at the horrible directions included with my new sprayer.  Looking at the allotted pin didn't help either as you'll find out later.  But alas here I am satisfied that I was able to install my new sprayer all on my own and it actually works.  Better yet water no longer drips under the sink every time I turn on the faucet.  To all you women or unhandy men out there who think you're not up to the task, I beg to differ.  It can be done, it just takes time and effort with a few fumbles along the way.  And don't worry since it was so hard for me to figure out the process I have included here for your viewing pleasure extensive directions with lots of pictures to help you along the way.  Good luck.

How to Install a new sprayer hose and base

Note:  If the directions provided with your sprayer are as lame as mine just discard entirely.  Mine told me to remove the old sprayer head and base and then attach the new ones.  No joke that was it.  Joke was on me because I had no idea how to do either one.  My handy dandy pin I had all picked out only told me how to remove the sprayer head and it turns out not all that well.  So I did some hunting on the internet to make sense of it all and found a lovely youtube video that shed some minor light on the whole fiasco.  Here is the link if you wish to look or just follow my directions below.

Step 1:  Make sure to shut off your water to the sink just in case, mine were located underneath the sink as pictured below.  There are two, one for cold water and one for hot.  Some of the resources I looked at said to do it, some said you didn't need to.  I did it just to be safe and good thing I did too because it turns out the nut on my shut off valve was loose and was also a partial culprit to the puddles under my sink.  No problem there it was easy enough to tighten the nut (righty tighty) and water stopped pouring in a deluge under my sink when I turned the knob to off.

Step 2:  Unscrew the sprayer head from the base as pictured below.  Good news is if you are just replacing the sprayer head and not the base or bottom of sprayer head your struggle ends here.  Just screw on the new sprayer head and just like that you are done.  Easy peasy.  Not so for me as my husband bought a fancy new one that didn't match the current crusty old base.  

Step 3:  Here's the hard part and what I got from the video above.  Remove the washer if there is one as well as this dreaded C clamp as seen below.  Nasty little bugger is harder to remove than keys from a keychain.  Use whatever you can, I ended up using a fork tine to wedge underneath it and bully off the hose end.  Be sure to plug up the drain or do it over the counter so you don't lose it down the sink.  It is just a miniscule little piece of metal in the shape of a C.

Step 4:  Once the C clamp is removed, in theory, the metal piece should detach from the rest of the hose as seen below.  I warn you however, it takes some serious muscle power and not a little bit of grunting and hair pulling to get it to come off.  Just when you are about to give up though it will pop right off and laugh in your face.  Be warned.

At this point we again return to the choose your own adventure portion of the article. If you are also changing the base ignore the following and skip ahead to changing the base. 

Now again if all you are doing is replacing the head of the sprayer and that little metal piece that came off you are all done.  Just reassemble with the new parts following the reverse directions.  Replace the new metal piece on the end of the hose.  Then attach the C clamp (hint use needle nose pliers or see below), add the washer to the top and screw on the new head. 

Changing the base

I know I feel your pain but don't give up yet we are almost done. 

If the base is still attached securely to the sink there is no need to secure it with a clamp as I have done below. If, however, the idiots that owned the house before you didn't bother to attach anything in the first place you will need to secure it first. I know, I have issues.

 

Next you will need to crawl underneath the sink and unscrew the plastic thingy (sorry don't know the real lingo) from the bottom of the base.  See picture provided below.

 

Once unscrewed you should be able to return above the sink and remove the base from the sink.  If attached you will probably need to pry it loose from the sink.

 

The end is in sight.  Now that the old sprayer and base have been removed you just need to reassemble with the new fangled parts.  Open up your package if you haven't already and put the new base on the hose. 

Note:  If you like you can replace the plastic thingy underneath the sink or if in working order just reuse it.  It can be removed easily by pulling the hose under the sink through the hole and then removing the plastic piece and replacing with the new plastic piece.

Now comes the part where again you need something from the store you didn't realize you needed, and that is adhesive of some kind to secure the base to the sink which I will have to do tomorrow.  In the meantime I left it unsecure and reassembled the rest of the sprayer as this will have no impact on completing the project tomorrow.  

To reassemble the sprayer head you will need to attach the metal piece you removed in step 4.  Just push the new one on over the end of the hose, it should snap on easier than it came off :)  Make sure to have it facing the correct way.  Then replace the C clamp in the groove (second groove down).  As pictured below it is actually quite easy of you use your nifty needle nose pliers to clamp it on.  Don't be like me do this right away and save your fingers.

 

After C clamp has been attached, slide washer over hose nozzle and then screw on the sprayer head.  You can then turn the water back on at the valve under the sink and test your sprayer out.  It should work properly but unfortunately for us water still comes out at the faucet whilst the sprayer is on indicating that I have yet another fix to make, replacing the diverter valve.  Ugghhh.  Will it never end?

 

Until next time.  Wish me luck.