Kitchen Sink and Faucet Replacement in San Antonio, Built for Hard Water

San Antonio’s water comes largely from the Edwards Aquifer, and it carries a lot of dissolved minerals. That’s why you see white crust on the aerator, a spray head that sputters and a handle that gets stiff. Inside the faucet, scale builds up on the cartridge until it can’t seal, and that’s when the slow drip starts.

A new cartridge sometimes fixes a drip, but on older faucets the parts can be hard to find, and the finish is often already pitted. If the faucet is more than ten or fifteen years old and leaking, replacing it is usually the better money. The same scale also crusts shutoff valves under the sink, so we often replace those during the same visit.

• White crust around the base of the spout or on the aerator.
• A pull-down spray that sprays sideways or barely flows.
• A handle that’s stiff to turn or won’t stay put.
• A drip that comes back soon after a cartridge change.
• Water stains or soft spots on the floor of the sink cabinet.

Look for ceramic disc cartridges, which handle mineral grit better than older washer or ball designs. A faucet whose cartridge is easy to buy and swap will save you trouble later. Spray heads with soft rubber nozzles let you rub scale off with a thumb instead of soaking the head in vinegar.

Finish choice matters in hard water. Polished chrome is durable but shows spots. Brushed nickel, matte black and stainless finishes hide mineral marks better. Matte black looks great, but very cheap versions can wear at the handle, so stick with reputable brands. Touch and touchless faucets are convenient, though they add a battery or power connection under the sink.

Size the faucet to the sink, too. A tall gooseneck spout over a shallow sink splashes, while a low spout over a deep single bowl makes it hard to fill a stockpot. If there’s a window above the sink, check that the spout and handle clear the sill when the handle swings back.

Undermount sinks sit beneath the counter edge, so crumbs wipe straight in. They need stone or solid surface counters and careful support. Drop-in sinks rest on the counter with a rim, which is easier to swap and works with laminate. Farmhouse or apron-front sinks need a cabinet built or modified to hold them, plus extra support for their weight.

Stainless steel is forgiving, quiet if it has sound padding, and hides hard water spots better than dark finishes. Composite granite sinks resist scratches and look rich but can show white mineral film on dark colors. Fireclay and cast iron suit older homes in neighborhoods like King William or Monte Vista, but they’re heavy and need solid support.

Swapping an undermount sink is more involved than replacing a faucet. The old sink is glued and clipped to the underside of the stone. Removing it means cutting the sealant, supporting the stone, and making sure the new sink fits the existing cutout. A new sink with a different shape or size may need the opening recut, which a stone fabricator can sometimes do on site.

We check the fit before buying anything. If you’re replacing counters at the same time, the new sink is mounted during the countertop installation instead, as described on our quartz countertop page.

For a sink and faucet replacement without new counters, a typical visit looks like this.

1. Shut off and drain: water is turned off at the valves or main, and lines are drained.
2. Disconnect: the disposal, drain trap, supply lines and old faucet come off.
3. Remove the old sink: sealant is cut, clips released and the sink lifted out with the counter supported.
4. Check and replace valves: crusted shutoff valves and supply lines are swapped for new ones.
5. Set the new sink: it’s mounted, sealed and supported, and given time to set if needed.
6. Install and test: the faucet, drain, disposal and dishwasher line are connected and leak-tested.

Many San Antonio homeowners add a water softener or an under-sink filter around the same time as a faucet upgrade. A whole-house softener reduces scale everywhere. A filter faucet or reverse osmosis system under the sink improves drinking water but doesn’t stop scale on the main faucet. If you’re planning either, we leave room and the right connections under the sink.

Simple habits help too. Wipe the faucet dry after heavy use, clean the aerator every few months, and look under the sink for drips. If you find water damage under there, our water damage repair team can fix the cabinet floor. For more on fixtures and scale, read our hard water fixture guide, or talk it through with us by phone.