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Plumbing Picks

Faucets & Fixtures

Guides on faucets, shower valves and the trim you touch every day. You will find how to stop a dripping kitchen or bathroom faucet, replace a cartridge in a single-handle mixer or a shower valve, clean an aerator to restore flow, fix a diverter that sends water the wrong way, and tighten a base that has worked loose. Sizing and fit articles cover faucet hole counts, pull-down against pull-out sprayers, and shower arm reach. Buying guides cover faucets, cartridges, braided supply lines, aerators, sprayer heads and hose bibb quick connects.

Picks are chosen from manufacturer specifications, installation instructions, warranty terms and plumbing code, with attention to fit and to whether replacement parts stay available. There are no paid placements. Some links on these pages are affiliate links, mostly to Amazon; if you buy through one the site may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Before you buy, find the brand and model of the fixture you have. It is often printed under the sink, on the valve body behind the handle, or on the original box. A cartridge or stem has to match the valve exactly, and the same brand can use different cartridges in different years. For a new faucet, count the holes in the sink or counter, measure how far the spout needs to reach, and check the supply line size under the sink. Turn off the water at the shut-off valves before any repair, and keep the old part so you can compare it with the new one.

🔧 Guide finder
Hi! I am the Plumbing Picks assistant. Ask me about toilets, faucets, drains, leaks, water heaters, hard water, tools — anything plumbing — and I will point you to the fix. What is going on?