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How Dismantling the Faucet?


Gather the proper tools. You will need a monkey wrench, bath socket wrench or vice grip pliers, a Philips screwdriver, a flat-head screwdriver, a jar gripper, plumber’s grease, a rag, Teflon tape and possibly tub caulk. You may also need a hair dryer.


Turn off the water intake to your house. You will need access to the pipes for the next hour or so. Tell family members or tenants that they will not have water during this time. Open the hot and cold valves on the bathtub faucet. This will drain any remaining water in the pipes.


Insert a Philips head screwdriver into the hole and unscrew the handle from the wall. Over time, handles can corrode and weld the faucet on. Use a hand dryer to heat the handle and loosen it. Don’t use too much force or it can break. Call a plumber if your handle breaks or will not come off.


Unscrew the trim and the collar from the wall by hand. The trim is the decorative piece that fits around the outside of the faucet, generally just behind the handle, while the collar is generally a tubular piece that fits around the internal faucet parts. They should unscrew fairly easily. You can use a hair dryer to loosen them as well. Repeat for the other handle if your tub has two.


Set the faucet handle inserts, faucet handles, screws, trim and collar parts aside in a small container. You will need to reconnect them in a similar fashion when you are done fixing the faucet. Remove the stem bonnet, which is the packing nut that holds the stem in place. These are sometimes also called “cartridges.” Insert a bath socket wrench and turn it counterclockwise.

How Maintaining Your New Vanity?

Reassemble the vanity after it’s dry. When all the pieces are dry, you can remove the painter’s tape and reassemble the vanity pieces with the hardware you stored. Re-stock it with your products, and then it’s ready to be used!

Take the opportunity to do some spring cleaning. As you’re putting items back into the vanity, think about how often you use them. If you’ve barely or never used them, get rid of them to make more space inside your new vanity.

Revamp the hardware to give the vanity a whole new look. Switch out your drawer and cabinet handles for new hardware. Try hardware in a different metal, glass knobs, or handles instead of knobs. This will complete the vanity’s transformation and make it feel brand-new.

Patch up scratches by gently sanding and painting over them. Use a very fine grit sandpaper to lightly sand the chipped area. Then use a brush with the same paint that’s already on the vanity and paint over the scratch.

Try to fill the scratch in with the paint so it looks level with the rest of the surface. Let the paint dry for a few minutes, and the vanity should look as good as new. Very fine sandpaper includes grits of 240, 320 and 400.

How Cleaning Your Shower Head?

Pour white vinegar in a gallon-sized plastic storage bag. The amount of vinegar that you need will depend on how big your shower head is. You need just enough vinegar to cover the end of the shower head where the water sprays out. You can use any plastic bag, but a storage bag is more likely to be leak-proof. Clean your shower head once a month to keep your water flowing well and to prevent mildew.

Place your shower head in the bag. Make sure that your shower head is submerged in the vinegar. If you need to, remove the bag and add more vinegar to cover the spray area. Tie a large rubber band around the end of the bag. Place your rubber band above the shower head so that the bag stays in place while allowing the shower head to fully soak in the vinegar. If you don’t have a rubber band, you can tie off your bag with anything that will hold it in place.

Remove the bag in the morning. Let your shower head soak in the vinegar overnight. In the morning, pour the vinegar down the drain and throw away or recycle the bag. Run clean water through your shower head. Turn on your shower and make sure that the shower head is spraying at full capacity. Wait a minute before getting in the shower to ensure that the vinegar is fully washed away.

Rinse off the shower door. Use your cup or bucket to wet the shower door. This pre-rinse should also remove any debris. Rinse the door weekly between deep cleanings. Deep clean the shower door once a month. Apply a cleaner. You can use a commercial product, or you can mix a tablespoon (15 milliliters) of white vinegar into a cup (237 milliliters) of baking soda to use as a natural cleaning agent. Coat the shower door in your cleaner. Set a timer for 1 hour. Your cleaner needs time to set. While you wait, you can clean another part of your shower if you’d like.

Wipe away the cleaning agent with a soft cloth. Be careful not to use a brush or wire scrubber on a shower door, which can easily scratch. Choose a soft cloth, such as microfiber, to remove the cleaner and grime. Rinse the door with clean water. Cleanse the door until there is no more cleaning agent. Dry the door with a soft cloth. Use a clean cloth to remove the excess water. This will prevent streaking on your newly clean door.