How can I loosen a tight sink handle?

Question

I recently replaced the pivot rod in my bathroom sink drain. Over the course of the 3 days it took me to finally come to a resolution for it, the cold water handle has gotten tight. The hot water handle moves fluidly as it used to, but now, all of a sudden, the cold water handle is hard to turn. I don't remember tightening any of the nuts or bolts under the sink. How can I fix this problem?

Answer 1

Assuming this is a faucet that fits variable widths, each tap has screws underneath the sink which allow you to adjust the height of the tap relative to the sink. The exact technique used to adjust the height varies, but generally in my experience you have to:

1. Loosen the locking screws/nuts - these lock the larger nut in place (if you have any)
2. Adjust the height of the faucet with the large nut under the sink
3. Tighten the locking screws/nuts again

As for why this could happen - changes in ambient temperature could have caused a slight adjustment in the height of the faucet above the sink - so the bottom of the tap could be turning against the sink where it didn't before. (This happened to me with both my hot and cold taps at different times.)

Here's an example of what they look like - these are my own faucets. Each tap has a brass ring holding it in place right under the sink, and two locking screws that lock the brass ring in place. The height of the tap is set by turning the brass ring.