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In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll show you how to change a kitchen faucet. This new model installs easily from above, instead of crawling under your sink!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Purchases made through these links may earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. I received free product from Spectrum Brands for this post, but all opinions are my own.

Our old sink faucet was really short, making it hard to fill a big pot when there were any dishes in the sink. And the soap dispenser has been broken since the day we moved in!

When Pfister asked if I would like to try out their brand new Miri faucet with above-the-sink installation, I jumped for joy! The less time I have to spend contorted under the sink, the better! But before I could install my shiny new faucet, I had to wrestle out the old one.

how to remove a kitchen faucet

First, clear out everything from under your sink. I took this opportunity to get rid of a lot of cleaning supplies that we had duplicates of, or that we didn’t really need. Then lay an old towel over the bottom of the cabinet so you’re not laying in chemical residue while you work!

How to Turn Off Water Under the Kitchen Sink

The first thing you need to do is turn off the water. There should be two pipes coming out of the wall for hot and cold water with shut off valves on the front or top. The right one is usually cold and the left one is hot.

If you have one pipe with a splitter like this one, it sends cold water both to the faucet and an instant hot water unit or refrigerator ice machine. You only have to turn off the one that goes to the faucet, so trace the destination of each pipe to figure out the correct one. Turn the knobs clockwise until they’re tightly closed.

Once the water is shut off, disconnect the flexible pipes that are attached to those valves. Be sure to have a bucket handy to catch any water that leaks out!

How to Remove a Faucet

Next, take a look at the underside of your sink where the faucet is connected. There should be a nut that holds a U shaped brace against the sink. Before you try wrestling it off, give it a quick squirt of Liquid Wrench penetrating oil first. This will help loosen the nut, so you won’t struggle with it for hours!

Most guides say to use a basin wrench to unscrew the nut, but I’ve never had great luck with them. They tend to slip, and it’s so hard to get it into the right position! Instead, I use this handy faucet wrench tool. It may be a little more expensive, but it makes the job so.much.easier!

The beauty of this tool is that it allows you to unscrew the nut straight on, instead of from the side. The hollow body fits around all the faucet tubing so you can get right up to the nut to unscrew it.

Clean the Holes in the Sink

Once you’ve removed that stubborn nut, pull out the faucet from the top. Be prepared to be grossed out by all the gunk underneath! Don’t worry, that’s a black foam seal that has disintegrated, not mold!

The old foam seal was stuck to the sink, but I carefully scraped it away with a putty knife. A Magic Eraser took care of the rest.

With the sink holes cleaned up, it’s time to install the new Pfister Miri faucet!

How to Install a Kitchen Faucet

After all the hassle of removing the old faucet, installing the new one couldn’t have been easier! Pfister gives you everything you need, and it’s ready to go in just a few minutes.

Line Deckplate up with the Center Hole (optional)

The Miri faucet can be used with a three hole or a single hole kitchen sink. The deckplate covers up the extra holes. If you have a single hole sink, you don’t need this piece.

The TiteSeal deckplate has a built-in seal, so you don’t have to mess with putty or silicone! It may be loose now, but once the faucet is in place, the entire unit becomes watertight.

Drop Faucet Tubes through Hole

Gather all the tubes hanging down from the bottom of the spout body, and drop everything down through the center hole. Make sure the metal bracket you can see on the left side is vertical.

Secure Faucet to Sink

Once everything is through the hole, check under your sink to make sure the bracket is now horizontal.

Now here’s the cool part:  Instead of struggling with a basin wrench or faucet wrench tool, this model tightens from above! Insert the Pfister Top Pfit tool into the faucet body and start turning clockwise. It takes a minute or so to crank that horizontal brace all the way up to the underside of the sink. You’ll know you’re close when you start to feel tension. 

Once the tool can’t turn anymore, remove it from the faucet base. Then drop the hose from the faucet neck down through the faucet body, then click the neck into place. 

Connect Faucet Supply Lines

All the water lines are included with the Miri faucet, so you don’t have to reuse the ones you removed earlier. Connect the red one to the hot water line on the left, and the black one to the cold water line on the right. Use an adjustable wrench to tighten the connections.

Connect Spray Head Line

The braided spray head line combines the hot and cold water together and delivers it to the faucet. Before you connect it, thread the end through the donut shaped weight first. This weight pulls the sprayer head back into position when you’re done using it!

Finally, connect the braided spray head line together with a click, then tighten the nut. You can clip the Top Pfit tool to the sprayer line or cold water line so you have it on hand if you ever need to tighten or remove the faucet.

Test the water connection and check for leaks. You’re done!

How to Replace a Kitchen Sink Soap Dispenser

Our soap dispenser has been broken for years, so we had a bottle cluttering up the countertop instead. But replacing a built-in soap dispenser is easier than I thought, and I wish I had done it sooner!

How to Remove the Soap Dispenser

The soap dispenser comes out the same way as the faucet, but you may need an extra set of hands. Mine was just spinning in place, so I waited until my son came home from school so he could help. He kept it from turning from above with a wrench, while I unscrewed it with the faucet wrench tool from below.

Once it’s out, clean up the sink surface to remove any residue and gunk.

How to Install a New Soap Dispenser

Installing the Miri soap dispenser is pretty easy. Drop the new soap dispenser neck through the sealing gasket and into the hole.

Secure it to the underside of the sink with the plastic washer. You can use the faucet wrench tool to get a better grip on it if it’s too difficult to get your hand up there.

Screw the plastic soap container to the neck. Then fill it with liquid soap from above.

It’s so nice to finally have a functional soap dispenser again! No more plastic bottles cluttering up the countertop! I especially like that the Pfister version works by pressing down on the front of the nozzle with just one finger.

As you can see, IT’S NOT HARD to replace a kitchen faucet yourself! If you hired a plumber of handyman to do it, you can expect it to cost $150 or more. With the money you save by doing it yourself, you can buy a gorgeous kitchen faucet like this one!

The pull-out nozzle makes cleaning up easy, and it clicks back into place firmly so it doesn’t fall out when you’re not using it!

I didn’t even realize until I took this picture that the instant hot water spout matches the curve of the Miri faucet exactly!