It might seem intimidating if you’ve never done it before, but replacing a sink is a relatively straightforward task for the home DIYer. This is something you can easily do in one day, even if you have limited experience with plumbing. It’s hard to give an estimated time, because you may or may not need to make hardware store runs. Still, it’s all fairly straightforward! You should be able to get it done in either a morning or an afternoon.

The toughest part comes first: making space to access the old fittings, and dealing with rusted or corroded fittings. Installation is usually a breeze, as long as you’re careful to take your time and follow the instructions provided with your new fixture.

Here’s how to get the job done:

Be sure you’ve got a high-quality replacement fixture. Don’t cheap out and get something made with crappy plastic components. You want something made mostly or completely from metal components, with a reliable valve and fittings that won’t let you down. Find our reviews and recommendations for the best kitchen faucets on our homepage!

Pick up any components you know you’ll need

Before starting, make sure you have an open-ended adjustable wrench handy! You’ll also need some fine-grit sandpaper. Pick that up at the hardware store if you don’t have any hanging around.

Check for shutoff valves under the sink. They’ll be on the feeder (supply) lines going to your faucet. If you’ve had yours installed relatively recently, there should be shutoff valves. Older setups and even some newer ones may not have these valves. You really want them, since they make installing and modifying plumbing fixtures infinitely easier.

If you don’t see any, add a set to your shopping list. You want compression-fit components, nothing you have to solder. This should be a really simple addition for you to make. If you already have shutoff valves, be sure to check them by shutting them off and opening the taps. If you see any dripping, plan to replace them. Most people have 1/2” copper supply pipes under the sink, so buy valves to match (or match whatever pipes you have).

As long as you’re making some modifications anyway, you should also buy some new supply tubes while you’re at the hardware store. Fitting valves or making any other modifications to rigid copper is a real pain, so save yourself the trouble now and in future by getting some flexible, stainless-steel lined tubing. You can easily shape this around any obstacles you might have, and if it’s stainless-steel lined it won’t kink or break quickly like plastic.

Get yourself a basin wrench, if you’re replacing an older faucet. All new faucets (and most recent fixtures) use simple wing nuts. So, if you’re replacing something relatively recent, no need to grab one of these. Basin wrenches are the only way to loosen older faster types, though.

Don’t try to do this project when the hardware store is closed! You want to be able to quickly go and buy any parts you discover you need.  It’s good to be aware that things will typically come up during the process, no matter how well you plan ahead.

If you’re going to be modifying copper piping, you should grab a tubing-cutter if you don’t already have one. You could theoretically use a hacksaw, but they’re tricky to maneuver in tight quarters.

Get yourself situated

Clear out the space under your sink. You want as easy access as possible to all the fittings and piping under the sink. Find something to kneel or lay on, since it’s easy to get uncomfortable doing this task.

Take a picture of everything on your phone

This is just plain common sense before you take apart and reassemble anything around the house. Even if you’re going to be doing modifications, you ought to take a picture so you know how to put it all back together.

Make sure you’re working with dry plumbing

It’s impossible to do any of this with water running through your pipes, so make sure that’s taken care of. Turn off your supply valves, if you have them. If you don’t have them, shut off the main water supply until you’ve fitted them. Let your faucet run to bleed out any water in the lines.

Take things apart

Remove the drain lines from the old faucet. You can go ahead and get the P-trap out of the way while you work, too. It’ll give you a lot more space to work. Taking these things apart is essential if they block access, but you may be able to skip it if you have a roomy space to work in. There will often be some excess water in the P-trap, so have a bucket handy to catch it! You’ll also want to disconnect the supply lines at this point, wherever they attach to the faucet fittings.

Remove the old faucet

Use your basin wrench to loosen the old faucet, or loosen the wing nuts by hand if it’s a relatively new fixture. Lift it out, taking its supply line sections with it. Clean the mounting area of the sink/countertop so that your new fixture can be caulked easily for a watertight seal.

Installing a new faucet

Always follow instructions! If the instructions tell you to do something other than what we’ve outlined, go with the manufacturer’s advice.

Do any pre-assembly tasks

In some cases, you’ll need to put components together before you install them. Sometimes, everything comes pre-assembled. Check your instructions.

Lower the fixture into place

Place the faucet, flange, or escutcheon over the opening (which of these you have will depend on the specific model you’ve bought). The supply fittings on the new fixture should be sticking down below the countertop.

Make sure it’s fitted in the right direction (it’s easier to mess this up than you’d think) by testing the knobs and range of motion for the spout.

Secure it

Thread the new supply lines through the faucet mounting nut, then push the nut up flush with the bottom of the opening. Then, tighten the faucet mounting nut (this is usually done with a special tool, provided with the fixture).

Tighten the flange nuts, if you’re using one. Tighten them as much as possible by hand, since it’s a pain to use wrenches in this tight space!

Replace/add valves and supply lines

Fit your shutoff valves on one end of your new, flexible supply tubing. Then, attach the other end to your new faucet. You’ll have to do this twice, once for the hot water and once for the cold (this is also the time to hook up the spray hose). See how far down the old copper piping the new tubes reach. You want to line each up for a good approximation.

Cut rigid copper piping just above where the new valves line up, and clean the cut end with fine-grit sandpaper. Then, use the compression-fit component to lock the valve fitting onto the old copper piping.

Reassemble everything else

Once it’s all put together the way it was originally (aside from your modifications), switch the shutoff valves to the open position. This is your chance to check everything for leaks! If it’s all leak-free and works as it should, congrats! You’ve saved yourself a heck of a lot of money and achieved something pretty darn handy.

General advice

Don’t get aggressive with sticky or corroded fittings. You don’t want to risk breaking them and being stuck with an even bigger mess. Take your time, and use WD-40 liberally if you need to.

If you simply can’t get the old faucet loose, lift out the sink basin. It’s quite simple to do: just loosen any nuts attaching it to the countertop. If there aren’t any, get a flathead screwdriver under the rim and lift it out by loosening the caulk. You can easily reset a sink in 10 minutes. Taking it out will give you much more latitude to work on the pesky fittings!

Run your faucet for a few minutes when you’ve finished. You want to know if you’ve done a good job attaching everything, so give leaks a chance to show themselves.

Remember to caulk under the escutcheon/flange/faucet!

What’s Next

See reviews of the best kitchen faucets here!

Perfect your hand washing routine

Even if you’ve got a dishwasher, you’ll have to wash at least some items by hand. Whether you’re doing everything by hand or just a few things, you can easily improve the way you’re doing dishes.

People do dishes by hand in a variety of ways, and this is one of those things where it’s easy to wonder if you’re overthinking it. Nope! Many of the common dishwashing methods are ineffective and inefficient.

For instance, if you’re constantly running the faucet and adding soap directly to your sponge as you wash each item, you’re wasting tons of water and dish soap. If you use a tub or fill half the sink with soapy water, adding dirty dishes, you’re just going to end up with a greasy, sludgy pool that doesn’t help you at all. It’s unpleasant to work with, makes your sponge gross, and leaves a film on dishes.

We’ve got our own system that we stand by:

Skip that nasty dishwashing tub, and don’t bother trying to fill up one half of your sink with soapy water. Instead, use a big bowl or pot by the side of your sink. Fill it with piping hot water and plenty of soap, then throw your sponge in to soak. You can also put it in one side, if you have a double sink. Use the sink (or the other half of the sink) for dirty dishes and rinsing.

Here’s how it works. Rinse a dirty dish, then grab the sponge from the hot, soapy vessel. Scrub the dish, rinse it over the other dirty dishes (helping to rinse them in the process), and then place it in the drying rack. Go back with your sponge for another dose of hot soapy water, and repeat!

Are we over thinking this? No. Here’s why. If you fill a sink with soapy water, it quickly becomes a greasy, semi-clean mess. You lose your suds, and you have to put in an absurd amount of soap to compete with the food scraps. Every time you rinse dishes, the pool of water gets super high and all lukewarm.

With our method, you always have fresh, hot soapy water. Your sponge stays a lot cleaner, and you just refill the vessel when you’re out. No gross standing water, no constantly adding soap to try and rescue your washing basin. You don’t waste any water, either, since you only run it when you rinse. You also save heat, since you don’t have to rinse with hot water! You’ve already got your hot water for the cleaning part (which is the only place you need it).

Use a natural dish detergent

Harsh chemicals are not something you want to put in the water table. They’re also toxic, and can leave chemical residues on your dishes. You have to worry about kids being around them, and they’re not good for your hands, either.

The ingredients in a lot of big brand dish soaps are pretty horrifying, when you take a closer look. Borax is a hormone disrupter, and 1,4-dioxane is a suspected carcinogen. Worst of all, bleach, triclosan and other harsh antiseptics actually contribute to the growth of superbugs that are resistant to disinfectants.

Simple soap and water does the trick as well as anything else. A natural dish detergent can clean as well as any chemical solution, and will actually sanitize to the same degree. The dishwasher is the best way to sanitize, of course, but any good dish soap will break down the lipid envelopes around virus cells.

Seventh Generation makes our favorite dishwashing products. Their dish liquid for washing by hand is gentle on hands, but an absolute beast on food messes!

Don’t be afraid of using the dishwasher

There’s a common misconception that dishwashers aren’t environmentally-friendly, or something a frugal person would want. That’s bogus! A good Energy Star dishwasher will always use less water than you will. Don’t have qualms about running yours! The only dishwashers that are wasteful are clunky old models. Using an Energy Star model from the past few years is actually the most efficient way to do dishes. You’ll end up saving money by using one, since it will cut down on your water and water-heating bills at the same time!

You shouldn’t need to do any pre-washing, either. Just rinse off the big stuff. A good dishwasher will have no issues getting rid of smaller bits left on dishes.

Overall, dishwashers do an infinitely better job cleaning than we can. Dishwashers use hot water that would scald our hands. They can sanitize thoroughly, and they wash things from every angle. Had trouble getting yours to do a perfect job? You could be loading incorrectly. Check your manual for advice from the manufacturer. Or, follow common sense rules: never overfill, and put the dirtiest items on the bottom.

Did you hear about that study in Sweden that found kids who never washed dishes by hand were more likely to develop allergies? Don’t freak out. Even if you use your dishwasher as much as humanly possible, you’ll still have lots of things to wash that can’t go through it.

Seventh Generation also makes formulas for dishwashers. We’ve only used the powdered one, but we assume the gel version is equally great.

Things that should never go in the dishwasher

• Cast iron
• Wood
• Nice knives
• Non-stick coatings

Use the proper tools

Sponges are one of those items where it doesn’t make sense to be cheap. The dollar-priced options are no good. Get something better than a plain, block-type sponge with a smooth texture. You want something with a scrubby side.

We love this Full Circle one:

It’s biodegradable when you’re done using it, but scrubs as well as those scratchy nylon scrubbers. We also like that it’s easy to sanitize! You can’t do that with plastic ones without them melting and degrading on you.

Full Circle also makes a really great scrubber brush set for tough stuff, like baked-on food on dishes and pans. It soaps itself up, and you can just replace the brush when it wears out. It won’t scratch anything, but it does a great job loosening gunk.

Soak things thoroughly before trying to tackle big messes

Need we say more? If you soak the toughest pots and pans in the sink for an hour before you wash them, you’ll save yourself a lot of pain.

If there’s a pot with baked-on food, fill it with water and add a quarter cup of baking soda. Bring it to the boil, then take it off the heat and let it sit for an hour. You should be able to easily scrape any debris off with a spatula after that.

Dealing with cast iron

A lot of people don’t know how to wash cast iron properly. Avoid soap, since it will destroy the oils that give cast iron its nonstick quality. Use a separate sponge for it, so you never risk damaging the finish. That’ll also keep your primary sponge from getting greasy and blackened. When you’ve scrubbed out the pan thoroughly, put it on the stove on low heat, soak a paper towel with olive oil, and then oil the pan. Let it stay on the heat for a few minutes, then turn it off. Wipe of the excess, and you’re good to go!

Dry things properly

When you dry dishes on towels or flat dish racks, you’re begging for germs and mold. Use a sloping dishrack, with a sloping tray underneath, preferably to drip into the sink. The idea is to prevent any standing water and moisture from sticking around on your counters. If that doesn’t work with your space, place a drying rack on a baking sheet with relatively high sides, so you can just empty that when a batch is finished drying.

Use a good drain strainer

Unless you want to be dealing with clogs, it’s important to use a drain strainer religiously. We like this OXO one because it catches everything and is easy to empty into the compost.

Improve your sanitation practices

Start cleaning your sink/dishwasher thoroughly and regularly

According to the National Health Service, the average kitchen sink contains about 100,000 times as many bacteria as your bathroom, or even your toilet. You wouldn’t wash dishes in the toilet, would you? Of course not.

Sanitize your sink daily and wipe it down. It’ll look much better, and you’ll be healthier for it. This Seventh Generation cleaner works perfectly, and it’ll sanitize without harsh chemicals. We also like that it’s completely non-toxic and food safe. You don’t have to worry about any toxic residues.

Same goes for your dishwasher! Leave it open during the day to prevent mold/mildew (just like you do with your washing machine. Every now and then, run it on empty on a sanitizing cycle, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to clean it out.

Deal carefully with raw meat, fish and poultry

Always rinse contaminated dishes and utensils immediately in hot water, and put them in the dishwasher for a sanitizing cycle.If you can’t do that, wash them with hot, soapy water, and then microwave your sponge and sanitize your sink.

Sanitize your cutting boards

The average one has 200 times more fecal bacteria on it than your toilet seat. That’s according to the National Health Service. Yuck! Only use porous (wooden) cutting boards for produce, and use dishwasher-safe plastic/composite boards for meat and poultry. Spray all your cutting boards with a disinfecting cleaner as part of your cleaning routine.

Use a fresh towel every day

Kitchen towels get incredibly dirty incredibly quickly. Just pick up a few extras, so you have enough to get through the week. Make a habit of washing them on high heat settings when you do your bedding or other linens.

Stop using your garbage disposal

It’s a massive waste of water and electricity. You should be composting food scraps.

What’s next

For more advice on taking your kitchen game to the next level, visit our homepage! It’s the best place to find links to all our buying guides and recommendations.

You’ll also want to read our guide to the best kitchen essentials!

Kitchen sink clogs are majorly disruptive! They’ll stop you cooking, throw a monkey wrench in doing dishes, and that’s not even mentioning hand-washing. Even a partially clogged drain can be a big annoyance.

Thankfully, clogged kitchen drains are relatively simple problems to solve. Below, we’ve put together some top tips for dealing with them thoroughly. We’ve also included some pointers to help you avoid clogs in the first place! After all, it’s a lot easier to have no clog in the first place.

Clearing a clog

Get ready

Remove any standing water, before you do anything else! It’s pretty much impossible to clear a drain if you’ve got a gallon of water floating above the drain. Use a cup and scoop the water into a big pot. It’s annoying, but necessary.

You should also clear any visible food scraps or debris from the drain. Use a fork to loosen it if need be, being careful around garbage disposals. Check your garbage disposal, if you have one.When they act up, they can clog drains. Switch it on and off, and make sure it’s not the culprit before you proceed. If you have a problem with the disposal, try the baking soda and vinegar procedure below!

Once you’ve gotten any standing water and visible blockages out of the way, pick one of the following methods to clear your clog.

Boiling water

You’ll find that when it comes to clearing drains and doing kitchen cleaning tasks, elemental methods work really well. Harnessing heat and water can help you out a lot!

Get your biggest pot on the stovetop, with the heat all the way up. When it comes to a rolling boil, put on some oven gloves or potholders and bring it to the sink. Pour it in, aiming directly at the drain. You want to go fairly fast, but start cautiously so that you don’t get splashed and scalded!

Some people suggest adding salt before pouring the water in. We haven’t found that it makes a big difference, but add a tablespoon of plain kitchen salt to the drain if you want to go the full nine yards.

In many cases, a potful of boiling water will do the trick. However, if you have a really persistent clog, you might need to do this twice. Sometimes, you’ll find that the first potful makes a dint, and simply drains very slowly. If that’s the case, let the water go down and then just pour another potful in. If things still don’t look like they’re moving at all, it’s time to move onto one of our next methods.

We suggest following up any of the below methods with a large dose of boiling water, to flush away any remnants of debris. It doesn’t always do the trick by itself, but it’s a great way to finish the job.

Baking soda and vinegar

Baking soda and vinegar: the classic chemical reaction. You might not have thought much about these two since you made little volcanoes as a kid, but trust us–they come in handy as a grown-up! The chemical reaction disrupts clogs remarkably well, and it’s completely safe for your pipes.

To do this, you’ll need about half a cup of each. It’s better to have more than that handy, since you may need to do two doses.

Take the strainer out of your drain, clearing any physical debris you can. Then, spoon the baking soda into the drain. Push it down as far as you can. Pour the vinegar over it, and watch it work! You should stand back a ways, though, since the reaction can fizz up suddenly, sometimes as much as 6”. So, feel free to watch, but don’t look directly over it!

Follow the baking soda and vinegar with a flush of boiling water. You should wait until the reaction has stopped, and give a few moments for it all to settle down.

This also works for clogged garbage disposals. Follow the same procedure, then follow it up with boiling water.

Use a bent wire hanger

If the above methods haven’t done the trick after two tries, go and find an old wire coat hanger. Untwist it as well as you can, so you have a fairly long, flexible wire to work with. Then, fish it down the drainpipe and feel around for an obstruction. You can also do this with a store-bought drain snake, but using a hanger is a handy workaround for some people. You can use the hanger to loosen and remove debris from quite a ways under your drain.

Use a plunger

If you don’t have a wire hanger handy, or if fishing around hasn’t worked, try your plunger! This should be your last resort before visiting the hardware store, since it’s a bit icky. But plungers can be fairly effective in the kitchen sink as well as the toilet. One particular upside of using a plunger: you don’t have to remove the standing water. That’s why it’s a good last resort, after you’ve done something else and followed with boiling water, only to see it stand there. You’ll want to sanitize your sink thoroughly after doing this, though!

Buy a drain snake

If you’ve tried everything above to no avail, it’s time to get a drain snake. They’re available in every hardware store. You can also find them much more cheaply online. We suggest having one or two on hand for these situations, so you don’t have to make a trip when you encounter clogs. You can use them in bathrooms as well as kitchen drains. Fish the drain snake down the drain, and maneuver it until you strike a clog. Then, twist, push and pull until you can get it free! Drain snakes are much more flexible than wire hangers, so they’re easier to feed it and maneuver in drain lines. They also have hooked edges to bring up any debris you push them through.

Disconnect the P-trap

Finally, if worst comes to worst, you’ll need to put your plumber’s hat on and take the drain assembly apart. If the clog isn’t reachable from the drain opening, disconnect the P-trap. It’s the curved (usually plastic) drain component directly under the drain opening. Take it off completely, and run some water through it in another sink. If it’s open and clear, your problem is further along. That’s likely why you couldn’t reach it from the drain opening. Go back to your plumber’s snake and fish it down the drainpipe where it’s open under the removed P trap. You should be able to get much further down, now!

Preventing clogs

It’s much easier to prevent clogs from happening in the first place than it is to remove them. So, here are some simple things you can do to keep them away.

Use a good strainer

Clogs aren’t magical. They only appear when food has gone down the drain. That’s easy to prevent! Food won’t end up in your drains if you use a proper strainer. We suggest ditching your factory strainer and getting this OXO silicone one. There are also plan metal baskets that do the same thing, but we like the OXO because the silicone “flips” the basket to empty food waste into your compost easily.

Use boiling water regularly

Boiling water is always good to run through your lines, to prevent drain flies and clogs from tiny food waste that escapes your strainer. You shouldn’t need to build this into your routine as an extra step. Just take advantage of the boiling water you already have when you make pasta. Pour it straight down the drain! Don’t strain out pasta and let the water cool without dealing with it. Same thing when you make hardboiled eggs. Make good use of that water!

Do a baking soda and vinegar treatment regularly

You can also do baking soda and vinegar if you find that clogs are a frequent occurrence. You shouldn’t do this as a substitute for using a strainer, but it certainly doesn’t hurt anything to add it to your kitchen cleaning routine. Follow it with a liberal flush of boiling water.

Use an enzyme maintainer

Enzyme maintainers like the ECOS product above are one of those fantastic natural products more people ought to know about. Enzymes naturally “eat” through food waste in your drains, and keep them from forming gradual clogs. They’re too slow to be practical for cleaning a solid clog, but they’re an excellent preventive measure to take.

What’s next

We hope you’ve found this guide helpful and informative! For more of our in-depth advice and comprehensive buying guides, check out our homepage! See the best kitchen essentials here!

We all like to think we keep a clean kitchen, but would you want to submit yourself to a food safety inspection like a restaurant undergoes? Probably not. And while we’re not saying you have to go overboard with your kitchen cleaning, chances are you could improve the level of sanitation in your home.

Likewise, while cleaning a kitchen might not seem like something you need to put much thought into, it’s a task worth doing properly. If you follow this guide, you’ll end up with a cleaner, safer kitchen and spend less time and effort to get it!

So, without further ado, here’s our comprehensive guide to cleaning your kitchen!

Don’t forget the sponge

According to recent studies, your kitchen sponge is one of the dirtiest things in your house. That’s counting the bathroom! You can read all about what scientists found lurking in the average kitchen sponge over at NPR (https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/11/548926054/can-you-really-not-clean-your-kitchen-sponge). What you need to know is, your kitchen sponge is pretty gross. And while you probably don’t clean it now, you should!

There are any number of ways to clean kitchen sponges, like boiling them in a pot of water for 10 minutes. Other people try to spray them down with something that sanitizes. Don’t bother with that method, since it doesn’t penetrate into the core of the sponge.

The quickest, most effective way to do the job is to run it through your dishwasher on a sanitizing wash/dry cycle. Short of that, get it fairly wet (but not dripping) and blast it in the microwave for 1 minute. That will kill the vast majority of bacteria on the surface and in the core.

Whichever route you take, make sure to do this at least weekly. It’s a simple but important step to take to keep your kitchen safe and healthy!

Cleaning a microwave without elbow grease

Microwaves get dirty very quickly, and they’re a pain to clean out by hand. You have to wash all the walls, which usually have stuck-on bits of food. Then there’s the rotating tray, and the tracks–it goes on and on.

Thankfully, there’s an easy way to clean your microwave without slaving away scrubbing bits and pieces all day. All you’ll need is a bowl/measuring cup (microwave-proof, of course!) of vinegar (2 tablespoons) and water (2 cups).

Add a toothpick–this’ll stop things bubbling over or exploding at you (this can happen when you microwave water in a totally smooth container. The smooth surfaces don’t allow bubbles to form, so the liquid erupts when jostled. It’s quite rare, but this simple trick solves the problem. Bubbles will form around the toothpick).

Stick the bowl in the microwave, and then run it on full blast for 5 minutes. When the timer goes off, dismiss it without opening the door. Let the steam work for a little bit before you do your scrubbing, so as to make your life easier.

Once you’ve steamed it all thoroughly, open the door, use potholders to remove the bowl, then wipe things down with paper towels. It will all lift off easily. Steam also sanitizes, so you don’t need to use any kind of chemical cleaners with this approach.

Boil away your drain issues

There are all sorts of reasons kitchen drains clog. In a bathroom, the culprit is usually hair. With your kitchen sink, it could be anything from peelings to old rice. Thankfully, anything that goes down the kitchen drain is usually organic matter. It’s easy to break down with the help of the good old elements!

First of all, you should be using a good drain collector/strainer basket in the bottom of the sink. That’ll nab all the big stuff before it even gets a chance to go further. It’s your first line of defense against clogs.

Use boiling water to maintain your drain, too. This is a good way to clear a clog if you have one, and it’s also something to do regularly as a preventive measure. If you have a clog, boil a big pot of water and pour it directly down the drain. 9 times out of 10, that’s all you need to do. The heat will blast through whatever’s in the way. Worst case scenario, follow it up with baking soda and vinegar. Job done!

Don’t skip food safety steps

Keeping a clean kitchen isn’t just an aesthetic concern. It’s a matter of basic safety and sanitation.

Always sanitize the sink and countertops after you’ve dealt with raw meat or eggs. Be sure to do faucet handles, etc. Anything you touch with uncooked meat juices/egg on your hands should get a quick spray and wipe down with a sanitizing cleaner and paper towels.

Never use wood cutting boards for meat, either! We know, wood is so much nicer than plastic. But keep one plastic (i.e. nonporous) cutting board around for meats.

Not only will all this keep you safe from dangerous bacteria, but you’ll reduce smells, odors and other grossness.

Want to be at the cutting edge of sanitation? Check out our reviews of the best touch-less kitchen faucets here!

Cleaning a fridge like a pro

Your fridge doesn’t have to be a nasty place, and it never will be if you follow these simple steps.

Make fridge cleaning/reorganization part of your grocery routine! As you’re making your shopping list, do a quick inventory of what you’ve got. Go through and empty your produce drawer of anything past its prime. Get rid of anything else that’s gone bad or which you know you’re not going to finish.

When you’ve eliminated the extras, take things out shelf by shelf. Sanitize the surfaces, and wipe them down thoroughly so you’re not leaving any moisture behind.

This is best done weekly, but we know that not everyone gets groceries that often. If you get groceries sporadically, make sure you’re doing this once a month.

Trash 101

Make sure you use a trash can that closes securely. That’s the only way to keep mice, ants, and flies from becoming a problem.

If you’re throwing away meat/fish packaging or scraps, tie up and take out the trash bag there and then. If you don’t want to do that, use a gallon ziplock bag for the suspect items. Otherwise, you’re asking for maggots and flies in your kitchen.

Spray down the trash can with sanitizing cleaner each time you empty the bag(or straight vinegar, which works as well as most cleaning solutions!) to kill bacteria and cut through odors.

Preventing pests

Ants, mice, and flies are the most common kitchen pests. They’re easy to avoid if you’re careful to put in the preventive work up front.

Keep honey/maple jars in ziplock bags. Ants can get in under jar lids like magic, and bags are the only way we’ve found to keep them at bay.

Don’t leave things like flour or rice in paper packaging. Mice will go right through them. Always use solid containers that seal, either plastic, pyrex, or jars. Paper is no match for mice. Ziplock bags won’t even stop them if they smell grains inside!

Make sure you keep pantry items in closed cabinets that you’ve checked thoroughly for mouse entrance points. It’s not just annoying to have mice in the kitchen: it’s dangerous. Hantavirus and other potentially deadly diseases are spread by contact with mice. If you find evidence of mice, sanitize thoroughly, and use gloves. Place any droppings and paper towels in a ziplock bag. Seal any gap in your cabinetry or kitchen baseboards, no matter how small!

Never leave spills, messes, or dirty dishes

Any of the above is a siren call to attract pests. Address them right off so that nothing is drawn to your kitchen.

Make a routine and stick to it

The best way to keep a clean, safe kitchen is to make all the key cleaning tasks part of your regular routine. Here’s a weekly and monthly checklist to follow:

Weekly essentials

Microwave sponge

Wipe down countertops

Sanitize contact areas

Vacuum floors

Wipe down stovetop

Sanitize sink and wipe out thoroughly

Launder kitchen towels, potholders, etc.

Monthly tasks

Wipe down hood over stove

Wash/sanitize your drying rack

Fronts of appliances

Any molding and shelves

Mop floor

Clean out drawers and cabinets

Empty toaster drawers and clean trays/racks to prevent burning

Make your life easier

The following are simple things you can do to save time cleaning.

• Keep a washable tray on a shelf at the lowest slot in your oven to catch drippings and prevent fires
• Use a washable mat/rug in front of the sink
• Use drawer liners if you want to save yourself the trouble of scrubbing out
• Keep items in organizers that can be removed and cleaned easily

What to use

Seventh Generation sanitizing cleaner

This is our all-purpose secret weapon. Seventh Generation makes plant-based, non-toxic cleaning products that work better than any of the harsh chemical options. They don’t leave any harmful residues on food surfaces, and they sanitize as well as bleach. This all-purpose product is our go-to in the kitchen. Use it to sanitize surfaces, loosen stuck-on messes, and anything else you need to do.

Seventh Generation recycled paper towels

You probably already have a favorite kind of paper towels, but seeing as you’re here, we thought we’d introduce you to ours. These Seventh Generation ones are all recycled fibers, and the most ethical you can buy. They’re also nice and sturdy, so you can scrub your stovetop without them falling apart.

What’s Next

See more of the best kitchen essentials here!

Leaky or sluggish faucets are a major annoyance, but they’re only a minor problem! Even if you don’t have much DIY plumbing experience under your belt, you should be able to get most kitchen faucets shipshape in well under an hour.

Why fix your faucet yourself?

It’s very easy to do.

You don’t need to do much besides take things apart and put them back together. There’s no soldering, cutting, or other “skilled” bits involved. As long as you can unscrew components and keep them organized, you have all the skills you need!

It doesn’t take much time.

With many manufacturer warranty policies, you’ll have to send in your old faucet for replacements or repairs. That can mean weeks without a functioning kitchen. Doing simple repairs yourself is often much more practical (see below for some instances in which you may want to go ahead and use the warranty coverage).

You can usually find replacement parts cheaply.

Faucets from Moen, Delta, and other major brands are stocked at any good hardware/DIY store. You can sometimes even get identical ones through your warranty coverage! Store-bought replacements are actually quite good, too. Many are better than the components that came with your fixture, especially if you’re working with an older one!

You don’t have to deal with the manufacturer.

If you inherited your faucet from a previous owner, chances are you don’t have the warranty and registration information to request repairs from the manufacturer. It’s much easier to handle the issue yourself than try and finagle some grudging service from an unhelpful customer support department.

When to skip DIY repairs

You can’t easily find parts.

If you can’t find parts near you, or online, you may want to go ahead and contact the manufacturer. They may do any number of things: send a replacement unit, ship you a fix-it kit, or ask you to send yours in for repairs. If it’s too frustrating to have to pay to send your fixture back to them and wait, request replacement parts. They ought to be free, and then you’ll have identical replacements to install yourself.

You’re not a confident DIYer.

If you don’t feel comfortable pulling apart a faucet, don’t feel like you have to! The point of this is to do it yourself because it’s easy and convenient. If it doesn’t feel either of those things, skip it and contact the manufacturer or a plumber.

You’ve bought your faucet recently and have it registered under warranty.

In this case, you shouldn’t have to bother doing anything yourself. Request a replacement unit or a fix-it kit from the manufacturer. Worst case scenario, you’ll just have to swap seals out yourself. Anything sold in the last few years should have a lifetime warranty covering any and all issues. Use that rather than voiding your policy by tampering.

You can’t take it apart.

If you can’t take your faucet apart using the techniques below, don’t try to jimmy-rig it. Call the manufacturer and ask if there’s a special way to get it apart, or whether you can get a replacement sent to you.

You’re not going to have to pay for return shipping/repair costs.

If you call the manufacturer and speak with someone helpful, take advantage! It’s a rare thing these days. Ideally, a warranty should provide you with a replacement unit shipped promptly to your door. You shouldn’t be expected to pay return shipping or wait weeks for a unit to be repaired. As long as the manufacturer is treating you well, just wait for the replacement to arrive and install that!

Tools you’ll need

Screwdriver

Pliers (large, slip-joint)

Allen keys

Faucet repair kit (includes rotary ball, springs, seat, and o-ring seals)

O-ring seals

Procedure

Find the source of the leak (if there is one). If you’re fixing a sluggish spout, see below, or simply take the whole thing apart and look for debris and deposits. Is the leak at the end of the spout, or is it coming from the base? The correct approach to fixing a leak will depend on where it actually is, so figure that out before you shut the water off.

If your leak is coming from the base of the spout, good news! You likely have a very easy problem to fix.

Leaks around the base of a spout are usually down to worn out o-ring seals. All you have to do is take the spout off. That doesn’t even require tools, most of the time. Many faucets have removable spouts that will lift off with a bit of coaxing and wiggling. In some cases, you’ll need to unscrew a few components.

Regardless, it should be simple. Consult your manual if you have one, or google a manual for your faucet model. Once you’ve removed the spout, use a screwdriver to pry off the old seals. Get yourself some matching seals at the hardware store, lubricate them well, and fit them snugly where the old ones were.

If your leak is coming from the base of the spout and replacing seals doesn’t work, you’re going to need to take the whole thing apart and do some bigger repairs. That’s also true if it’s coming from the end of the spout. You might have a cartridge or valve issue, or need to replace something further into the mechanism. Get yourself a good repair kit, and then follow the steps below. Don’t be daunted–it’s still relatively easy!

Turn off the water supply

Use the shutoff valves under your sink to stop water flowing to your faucet. If you don’t have them, you’re going to need to turn off your whole water supply. That’ll be true anytime you need to do plumbing fixes, so adding shutoff valves should be on your list of to-do’s! Dealing with them is much more convenient. Leave the faucet wide open to drain out any remaining water.

Use a drain strainer

This is to catch any small parts that might fall into the sink as you work. You don’t want them going down the drain by accident!

Keep track of all the parts by laying them out on paper towels

Set them out in the order they were removed, so you know what order to use when you put everything back together.

Take apart your faucet

There are several types of faucet, and you have to take them all apart slightly differently. Family Handyman has an excellent step-by-step tutorial with images and instructions for all types here:

https://www.familyhandyman.com/plumbing/faucet-repair/how-to-repair-a-kitchen-faucet/view-all/

Once you’ve taken everything apart, have a look at the valve.You’re looking for deteriorated gaskets or mineral deposits Use a cloth soaked in vinegar or a fine abrasive pad (nylon, preferably) to loosen these and clean the surfaces. If there are lots of mineral deposits, soak components in vinegar. You can also spray it on, if that works for you and you have a spare spray bottle handy.

At this point, you’ll also need to inspect all the components in the interior of the faucet, like the seat and the other seals that you didn’t see when you lifted off the spout. Follow the Family Handyman instructions, and you’ll be good as gold to fix leaks at both the base and end of the spout.

Resolving sluggish flow

There are a few different things that can cause sluggish flow on a kitchen faucet. They’re all to do with debris and deposits, though. So, the key thing to do here is take everything apart and give it a good cleaning with vinegar and an implement.

Usually, you’ll see a number of small holes inside the body of the faucet. Water ought to be able to flow freely through them. Use pipe cleaners or a screwdriver to clear them out. Restricted flow can also be traced to the aerator in some cases.You can easily unscrew it and clean it which is easiest done by soaking it in vinegar for a few minutes and then scrubbing/rinsing.

If you’re doing any cleaning of debris or deposits, open the shutoff valves slightly before you put everything back together. That’ll flush out all the loosened debris.

Having trouble with a sprayer? Unscrew the head and soak it with vinegar. 9 times out of 10, that’ll solve the problem. Sprayer heads get clogged with mineral deposits very easily. This is also a good thing to do to prevent mold issues.

Wrapping up

Once you finish putting things back together, turn the shutoff valves back to the open position, and let the faucet flow freely. Check for any sluggishness or leaks, so that you can see whether you were successful. Hopefully, you were!

If you’ve done your best with a repair kit but can’t completely resolve leaks, you probably have a crappy faucet to begin with. If there are any plastic components, especially plastic innards, you’re better off just upgrading to a high-quality fixture. Find our recommendations for the best kitchen faucets here!