How to fix kitchen sink faucet?

Question

There are quite a few things wrong with this faucet.

1. There is a lot of dried up minerals that make it impossible to rotate the faucet. If rotated, the faucet rotates at the base instead of the mid section. The mechanism seems jammed. How do I clean this part so it rotates smoothly once again?

2. The base used to have some sealant which came off so I used some soft silicon gel to seal it at the base. As you can see the it has separated from the faucet's metal base but is still adhered to the granite (?). What is the right product to seal this properly?

3. In an effort to fix #1, I have tried going under the sink and tightening the bolt but no matter how much I tighten it, the whole faucet seems to move mainly due to the aforementioned mechanism being jammed.

Do I need to bite the bullet and replace the faucet or is this fixable?

We seem to live in an area where water is excessively hard (320PPM) so I am guessing this will recur. Is there a way to prevent it?

Answer 1

Remove it from the bench and soak it in lime remover (white vinegar, dilute muriatic acid, etc)

Disassemble it, and clean the parts.

lubricate it with Vaseline (or other petroleum jelly)

Replace any worn seal found, reinstall it

There should probably be some sort of circular gasket or o-ring between the base and the benchtop.

Answer 2

Funny thing... you have exactly my same Faucet. I've had it for 11 years. I have terrible hard water also. Also rusty.

1. Do you have a water softener? Looks like you need one.
2. With hard water you need to do some regular maintenance. Like: taking apart the parts that come apart easily. Soak EVERYTHING in your chosen Lime Remove. As long as you're there unscrew anything you can easily, wipe out the threads (male and female) and treat the threads with an approved grease. DON'T use Vaseline! It gets dirty then gross.
3. I am in the middle of correcting my issue. Due to regular maintenance I don't have any of your apparent issues. My problem is the water supply where the nylon hose attaches to the handle / sprayer handle is leaking and spraying tiny jets from where the hose gets a lot of repeated bending. -SO....I screwed around with trying to find a replacement hose where the ends match up with the hose to be replaced. After am entire day wasted I DECIDED TO JUST BUY A NEW FAUCET. 11 YEARS AGO Home Depot had a Special on the Faucet for $50. I figure I got my wear out of it. I just bought a Tuscany from Menards for$70 and am replacing it tonight.
   LIKE I SAID, BUY A NEW FAUCET, GET USED TO MAINTENANCE, AND CONSIDER INSTALLING A WATER SOFTENER. Your hair will be more manageable, better quality cleaning, less water spots, better taste, etc. TOTALLY WORTH THE PRICE!