You’d be amazed how many people ruin their kitchen or bathroom faucets and shower heads attempting to remove the aerator and clear mineral build-up. While clearing a faucet is a simple job, you still need basic skills in how to protect your hardware from tool damage. It’s part of your Basic Home Repair 101 course, but if you’re like some of my relatives, you prefer employing brute force rather than common sense.

In a previous blog, I wrote about fixing leaky faucets and probably should have written about simple cleaning first. The minerals in your water source form sediment that cakes and clogs your sink and shower aerators. It’s mostly calcium and is harmless, even though it creates small maintenance projects.

At home my well water deposits white coatings on my shower head, which then distributes water right out the side window or on the curtain. I use an off-the shelf product that removes calcium, lime, and rust in minutes. Of course, old plumber’s folklore and present practice include soaking your aerators and heads in simple white vinegar. Warm vinegar melts the sediment off overnight.

Next, you puncture the spray holes in the shower head with a push pin to finish off the job.

Take Some Care and Save Your Hardware

You’re going to need a set of pliers to loosen the casing and remove the aerator from the faucet or shower head. Now comes the little class secret: wrap the teeth of your pliers (on the action end) with electrical tape to spare your hardware from scrapes, gouging, bending, or crushing.  Once the end is safely rotated loose, you may need a thin blade or knife to pry out the aerator.

Here are other precautions:

•    Be sure you close the drain and turn off the water supply to your tap.
•    Loosen the casing with a set of pliers or monkey wrench.
•    Remove the aerator and soak in vinegar or safe home improvement product.
•    Clean all masks or aerators, gaskets, heads, and spray holes.
•    Tighten, open water supply and drain.

I use gloves and take a stiff brush to the hardware before rinsing it with clear water. I have a friend who made the mistake of washing the hardware in the same kitchen sink where he had removed the aerator. Old habits die hard.

While you’re at this project, it’s not a bad idea to add in related work, like clearing your drains, and repairing damaged hardware. Need a new disposal? Now’s a good time to think about it.

Renovating your kitchen and adding a sink? Perhaps it’s time to consider the latest options in garbage disposals. While only a few manufacturers actually make disposals and issue them to resellers, there are more choices than ever before.

If you’ve ever found yourself (I have) using a broom handle to dislodge frozen chopping blades in your kitchen disposal, there are new units that have reversible blades. And while most disposals run on a third-horsepower, you can purchase models that rev up to a full horsepower in operation. That’s like Tim Allen attaching a corvette engine to a disposal to convert it into a wood chipper.

About Disposal Options
The invention of the first kitchen disposal in 1927 is credited to Wisconsin architect John W. Hammes, the man who went on to found one of the today’s largest manufacturers, InSinkErator. Since then, kitchen garbage disposals have been segmented into three major categories: Continuous-feed, Cover-control (or batch-feed), and Septic-tank disposals.

The Continuous-feed disposal is the most-common unit found in homes and apartments. You flip a switch on the kitchen wall and the unit fires up. It keeps running until you switch it off.

The Cover-control model consists of an open mouth and stopper-cover. You push scraps and waste into the unit and then insert the stopper. The cover fires up the unit, and it runs until you remove the stopper.

The Septic-tank disposal works just like the Continuous-feed model, except that it contains a bio-charge cartridge that further breaks down waste before it feeds out into your plumbing. Cartridges must be changed several times a year.

New Ideas for Old Garbage
Newer disposal models today include features like anti-jamming and reversible blades and quiet operation. The anti-jamming models have timed or auto-reverse features where the blades suddenly lurch into reverse or can be set to operate in reverse to prevent silverware, bones, lost dimes and quarters from freezing the mechanism. (Remember the broom handle trick). I don’t know how often I had to hit the reset button on those older units.

The quiet-operation feature comes either with baffles or insulation wraps around the unit. I’m not sure how much they soften the din of chopping food waste. Some models also come with hookups to your dishwasher so that wastewater from your pots, pans, and dishes runs through the blades before leaving the kitchen.

Consumer Reports says that you can expect a ten-year service life from most models of today’s garbage disposals. You can do your part, too, to extend service life by operating your disposal with a minimum amount of care. Many disposal problems are caused by homeowners running units with little water or hot water. You need a healthy stream of cold water to assist the shredder.

It’s also common sense worth repeating that you should take care to remove silverware, large bones, and large twigs or stems from vegetables from the sink before running the unit. The latter belongs in your compost pile.

Undermount kitchen sinks are rapidly becoming more common in kitchen remodeling plans than traditional top-mount bowl sinks. Made in a variety of sturdy materials, they really add pizazz to a renovation that includes granite countertops. The sinks are functional and stylish. And you can sponge countertop crumbs straight into the sink without fuss.

I like how they slide under the countertop, giving it a modern appearance.  But once you decide on having one installed, be sure you like the look and function of the faucets, since it will cost you to have them changed out after the work is done.

Proper Sink Installation Is Critical
Home improvement writer Tim Carter says an undermount kitchen sink should deliver years of trouble free convenience–if they’re installed correctly.  Having your contractor secure the sink with high-grade epoxies and water-resistant silicone caulking can make all the difference between satisfaction and a lifetime of leaky troubles.

Your installer, Carter adds, must make sure the underside of the countertop is free of dust, otherwise the silicone caulk may not seal effectively. Installation can take as little as a half hour.

Solid Countertops Only
You should not consider an undermounted kitchen sink if your new countertops are composed of laminate. Eventually, writes Do-It-Yourself columnist Murray Anderson, the laminate countertop would buckle and crack. Depending on the manufacturer, you can buy countetops that are pre-drilled for installing undermount sinks.

Prepping the sink for installation is known by tradespeople as “dressing” it.  The dressed sink has its faucet and drain assembles already installed and is ready to be set into the countertop.

Depending on the model, the sink may come with a measured template that you or your installer can use to cut the right shape into the new countertop.

Buying Undermount Sinks
There are plenty of online or physical showrooms where you can shop around and compare prices. I found models ranging from $180 for a single-bowl, undermounted sink, to $480 for a double-bowl model in stainless steel.

If you plan on installing it yourself, get plenty of assistance, says Overstock.com, as the sink and countertop sections may well be too heavy or ungainly to handle alone.  You’ll need to pay loving attention to the edges of the counterop, prepping it with sandpaper or a file to ensure a clean surface for the sealant as well as its sharp looks.

The sink tightens into place with fasteners under the fitting. Stand back and look at the clean lines and sparkling sink.