How To Fix One Handle Moen Bathroom Faucet

Does anyone else become irritated when the bath faucet drips constantly? It drives me completely nuts to run into water just being wasted day in and mean solar day out. And evidently my youngest daughter feels the same mode: she came to me the other solar day complaining almost water coming from the faucet even though she hadn't turned it on yet. At this point it was pretty clear that I needed to take care of this tiny issue 🙂

In this quick tutorial I'll share how to replace the cartridge in a Moen bath faucet in less than 15 minutes. Faulty cartridges are i reason you lot become water leaking from bathroom faucets and they're easy to supplant. So let'southward begin.

Lefty or Righty, That is the Question?

The first step in fixing whatsoever two handled faucet drip is to make up one's mind which handle has a bad seal. To test the left handle's seal you'll need to turn the water off to the right handle. Under your sink there should be two shutoff valves that connect the water lines to each respective faucet handle. The setup will look like the picture below.

Turn off the right handle's shutoff valve by turning it to the right until it stops. And then plow on the right handle at the sink to release the remaining water that's in it. Cheque the faucet to see if there are any leaks. Fifty-fifty if y'all do run into leaks this indicates the left handle's seals are bad.

You should also examination to brand sure the right handle is in good shape.

In order to do this y'all demand to turn the right faucet handle'south shutoff valve back on. Brand sure water is running to the right faucet handle then turn information technology back off. Now turn off the left handle's shutoff valve and release all the water out of it'due south supply line by turning the handle to the on position. Does the faucet have any drips of water coming out of it? If the respond is no then your right handle has skilful seals.

In my case in that location were still leaks when the right handle's shutoff valve water was turned off. This indicated a bad seal in the left faucet handle.

Allow the Dismantling Begin

This is the fun part for me, taking apart the faucet. I always encourage you to take pictures of the process in case you need to refer dorsum to how the setup use to be before it was fiddled with.

In the example of this Moen faucet I needed to unscrew the base of the faucet handle. If you have a similar handle you tin accomplish this past hand most of the time. Plough the base to the left to unscrew it.

Expose the brass nut to the faucet handle body

This will expose the brass nut that holds the cartridge in place. You'll need to loosen the nut with a pair of channel locks. Turn the brass nut to the left to unscrew it.

At this point mybig tipis to have a picture of how the cartridge sits in the faucet handle body. There are commonly modest foursquare tabs on the cartridge that secure it in place but you'll also need to pay attention to the cartridge stem position.

Pay attention to the old faucet cartrdige position

Pull the cartridge directly upwards from the faucet trunk using the channel locks.

Remove the old faucet cartridge with channel locks

Take the cartridge with you lot to the hardware store or Home Depot or Lowes in order to find the correct replacement. I recommend buying the name brand replacement cartridge. Sure they're a bit more expensive ($x-12) just at least y'all know they'll work!!!

Take the old faucet cartridge to the store

It Doesn't Get Whatsoever Easier

With your new faucet cartridge in hand all you need to practice is refer back to the picture show you took of the stem position.

Take a picture like this of the old faucet cartridge for reference

Take discover of the small square grooves in the faucet handle torso equally well.

There are typically small grooves in the faucet handle body

Now simply insert your new Moen replacement sink cartridge into the faucet.

Insert the new Moen faucet replacement cartridge

Refasten the brass nut that secures the cartridge in place by hand tightening it and then using channel locks.

Hand tighten the brass nut first then use channel locks

This nut doesn't need to be super tight. Merely secure the brass nut enough to keep h2o from leaking from underneath the new Moen replacement cartridge. A expert way to check this is to turn on the shutoff valve to the faucet handle before attaching the faucet handle itself.

With the bathroom sink'due south new Moen replacement cartridge in place you can now put on the faucet handle. Again, I hand tighten this type of handle only and don't utilize channel locks.

The result of this repair is no more water dripping from the faucet, no more waste of a precious natural resource, and no more than money being added to your h2o bill. It's also easy and affordable to perform. So why expect, prepare your leaky faucet this week 🙂

What's Next

Hopefully this tutorial helped.

The biggest tip to remember is take the one-time Moen faucet cartridge with you to the store to ensure you're buying the correct replacement.

If you're doing a bathroom remodel and demand help, join i of our online courses – they'll make your bathroom renovation much easier!

Let me know if y'all take any questions and I'll exercise my all-time to assistance.

Cheers,

Jeff

Bathroom Faucet Repair