How to replace-repair a leaky moen cartridge in a bathroom set of faucets-single lever

[AlisionIsUnreal]

I have told my building manager about my leaky shower/bathtub faucet. It's getting progressively worse, yet they won't change it. They clearly came in and did *something* to it, the knob was loose and there were dirty shoe prints in my bathtub. However, it's now running. I am thinking about doing this myself BUT I can't turn off my water. Now. this might be crazy, but if I took precautions against gushing water, is it possible to do this with the water on? The faucet is basically running now.

[TheOldkid888]

@AlisionIsUnreal Hello;It is possible to replace the cartridge without turning the water off to the building if it is a certain style shower faucet. Moen made a pressure balancing faucet a number of years ago and the faucet had 2 shut-offs on it. They were a common(straight) screwdriver shut-off. You would have to remove the handle,and then take 2 long screws that are a philips head(star) out to remove the round flange.You would see the shut-offs there and turn them clockwise to turn them off.

[AlisionIsUnreal]

@TheOldkid888 Thanks for the reply! I checked and mine does not have the pressure balancing feature-- it's about as basic as things can get, apparently. I'm glad I didn't try to pop the cartridge out with the water on... I thought that *maybe* I could force a new one in against the pressure, but it's more likely that disaster would have ensued. :)

[TheOldkid888]

@AlisionIsUnreal Hello;

If it does not have the valves built into the faucet then you Must trun you water to your apartment off to change the cartridge. I once watched a video on youtube I believe where a guy didn't turn it off and it wasn't pretty. You will just have to get your landlord back and give him a blast. I would say you need a 1225B cartridge for your faucet.

All the best and thanks for commenting!!! Al

[TheOldkid888]

@AlisionIsUnreal If there are no valves there you will have to find the shut-off and turn the building water off. The cartridge CANNOT be changed with out turning the water off.

Is this a single lever moen faucet? Do you pull the handle out and turn it to the right or left for your water temperature? If this is what is required to operate your faucet then it could possibly have valves built into the faucet.

All the best and let me know how you get along! Al

[ShawnskiUWM]

This video was extremely helpful! Thank you so much for posting. One issue that arose for me when completing this was the outer brass component of my original cartridge didn't come out with the rest when I removed it. It was lodged in the pipe. So I went to the hardware store and rented a moen cartridge remover for $2 and that worked like a charm to pull out the old brass cartridge. My new cartridge is plastic and went in like a charm.

Thanks again!!!

[TheOldkid888]

@ShawnskiUWM hello;

The brass cartridges can be a pain in the backside at times all depending on your water quality.

I am glad the puller worked for you and I appreciate your comments.

Thanks very mcuh and all the best in 2012!!! Al

[scott8305]

My faucet doesn't leak but it pulls very hard. Should I replace the cartridge or just lube the seals?

[TheOldkid888]

@scott8305 hello;

It will need to be replaced in the future. I would call the moen 800 number and get them to ship you one for free. The one for this faucet that pulls out and turns left and right is a 1225B cartridge.

Thanks for the comments and have a great xmas! Al

[pizamoto]

Most of the hardware stores in my area, including Lowes and HomeDespot, won't give you anything at no charge.

Just go to Moen's website to get the Product Support number and call them. They will send it to you for free.

[TheOldkid888]

@pizamoto Hello there;

If you try going to a plumbing distributor in your area they should give you one at no cost. If not you will get one for free from Moen directly.

Thanks for commenting and enjoy the holidays! Al

[laurabenge]

Hi Al! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!! You're a good teacher. I am not at all handy, and I just successfully replaced the cartridges in two leaky bathroom sinks in our new house with your guidance. I've got one more bathroom sink, and two shower cartridges to replace, and then we'll be leak free. :o) If that goes well, I may try to replace the rusty pipes under our bathroom sinks too. I really appreciate your time in making this video. I hope you have a great Christmas!

[TheOldkid888]

@laurabenge Hello Laura;

Thanks for the compliments and congrats on your repairs! Funny thing is that I still get a little nervous when it is just the camera and myself even though I have been doing this work for a long time.

I made a few videos on replacing shower faucets as well and you should have no trouble with those repairs either. Great job!!!

Thanks for commenting and best wishes to you and your family over the holidays!!!

Al

[mhofkes]

Al - I have a moen single handled bathroom sink faucet.  I had to replace the cartridge on several occasions. Upon initial installation the faucet works great but as time goes on it becomes more difficult to operate, starts to stick. It acts like it is binding inside the cartridge. We have the same exact faucet in our downstairs bathroom with no issues to date. Could use your help please ! Thanks MJH

[TheOldkid888]

@mhofkes Hello;

Sorry for getting back to you so late. Didn't see your message.

Tough one!!!

It could be that your faucet upstairs is being used considerably more. One thing you can try is to lube the stem of the cartridge with some faucet grease or lube. The cartridges always comes lubricated to the point that some even shut closed by themselves, but this may help you in this situation. No guarentees.

Thanks for commenting and enjoy the holidays!!! Al

[picbutt]

hello al, i put a new cartridge in my bathroom faucet and there is water coming from the manufactured hole in the brass stem. therefore, water is leaking from underneath the plastic handle. what do i need to do to fix this problem. thanks

[TheOldkid888]

@picbutt hello there;

Sorry for getting back so late to you as I was away at my son`s house doing a reno job with him on the other side of the country.

It sounds to me that you may have a faulty cartridge. This is not a common problem for sure.I would pick up another cartridge and give it a try.

Good luck and let me know how you get along!!!

Al

[vickivickable]

Hi Al, what is an easy out? I can rotate the cartridge without the handy tool at this point and it comes out part way but something seems to be holding on to it. I've tried WD40 to get it to loosen but it still won't come out. Thanks

[TheOldkid888]

@vickivickable Hello Vicki;An easy out is a tool that removes broken pieces of pipe in a fitting and turn into the pipe with a left hand thread.Are you sure it is the entire cartridge that you are turning and not just the centre piece.I have never been able to turn the cartridge freely when I was replacing it.If you removed the clip and placed the tool down over the cartridge;you must try turning it then.It sounds like just the centre piece to me that is moving.

Thanks for commenting!G.L. Al

[lovnart7]

Lowes hardware wouldn't give me a free Moen cartridge. Will Moen send me a refund for the one I bought if I call the 800 #? Wish they would replace the spout too since that's got corrosion now from all the leaking...

[TheOldkid888]

@lovnart7 Hello there; I would not hesitate to call them and explain your situation and they should do something for you. They are excellent to deal with. I am not sure how old the faucet is, but they will definitely help you out somehow.

Good luck and have a great day!!! Al

[lovnart7]

You just saved me alot of money! Thanks to your video post I was able to do this job myself and call back the plumber to say I didn't need him! Never underestimate the power of a woman:)

And yes, that little gadget is worth it's weight in gold!

THANK YOU.

[TheOldkid888]

@lovnart7 Congrats on the repair. Super job!!! I realize the power of a woman; no worries there. I am married to a great one that I cannot say enough about.

The little tool makes the job a whole lot easier for sure.

Thanks for commenting and have a great weekend!!! Al

[fandbmgr2012]

Hi hope you can help me. I fixed one faucet today and now the second cartridge thing wont budge, even broke the plastic thing when i tried to loosen. Now have the moen tool, cartridge remover and finally got something to happen but only inner cartridge came out. Put tool in to take out outer cartridge and it wont come out. Any suggestions?

[TheOldkid888]

@fandbmgr2012 Hello there; if the cartridge you are removing is brass;you can have some major difficulties with it. Most Moen cartridges now are plastic.I have not had a lot of luck with removing the innner part of the cartridge when this happens.There is one way I would suggest and that could be using an easy out. It worked for me twice, but 1 other time I ended up changing the faucets. All I can do is wish you the best of luck and thanks for commenting. Al

[conehd]

Absolutely fantastic! I know nothing about plumbing and fixed the leak myself! Thanks for sharing.

[TheOldkid888]

@conehd Hello;

Congrats on the repair. Glad to see it went well for you. Anytime just drop me a line if you need any advice. Thanks for commenting and have a good day!!! Al

[conehd]

@TheOldkid888 Hi,

Well, I was empowered by my previous success so tried another. Now have a cartridge out but the seal at the base is still stuck down in the faucet -- didn't come out with the cartridge. Any ideas on how to remove it?

[TheOldkid888]

@conehd Hello there. The cartridge you have is just like the other made of plastic. Did you use the plastic tool to try and turn the entire cartridge? If not give that a try and let me know how you got along. G.L. Al

[conehd]

@TheOldkid888 Thanks for the quick answer. I had to pull hard on the cartridge. It finally came out, but left the rubber seal from the bottom stuck in the faucet. I think I've dug it out with a dental tool. Am putting in the new cartridge in now so will see if it works. If not, and I left pieces of rubber, I guess I'll replace the faucet.

[TheOldkid888]

@conehd hello there; Take a straight or common screwdriver and slide it down the faucet. You should be able to remove the rubber and not have to replace the faucet. Take your time; you can do it!!! Good luck and thanks for your comments! Al

[vickivickable]

Help....my cartridge is stuck-it only comes out part way. It seems loose as I can turn it the way you do in the video.

[TheOldkid888]

@vickivickable hello there; You can turn the cartridge back and forth several times. The more you do; the easier it will be to remove. Thanks for commenting and good luck! Al

[youfaked]

any ideas... i tried this... all seemed okay until i turned my water back on and it was pouring out of the faucet... and the faucet was supposed to be OFF... basially off is on and on is MORE on... im so confused and i tried to take the piece out and it will not come out... so i have no idea what happened

[emforty2]

dude do you know how many people you have helped on this including me ?

your the "real hero" in my book !!

you just saved me money by not calling a plumber

my bathroom faucet is exactly like that !

[TheOldkid888]

@emforty2 Hello there; I am glad to have helped you out. It isn't a big repair, but a leaky faucet can cost you a few dollars on the water bill for sure. Thanks for commenting and have yourself a great day!!!  Al

[pyrodonic01]

Awesome video, thank you.



[TheOldkid888]

@pyrodonic01 Hello there; Hope you get along well. Taking your time is the big thing. Thanks for commenting and have a grand day!!! Al

[hughconn16]

Thank you for an excellent video. My mother's faucet was leaking and I thought I would have to replace the whole unit. Now I see I can just replace the cartridge, much easier than I thought. The video was so well done, even I think I can do it!

Thank you!

[TheOldkid888]

@hughconn16 Hey Hugh; Glad I could help. Take your time with it and everything should go just fine. Thanks for commenting and have a large day!!! Al

[drumspeak5]

WOW thanks .about time I found a video on how too fix a one knob Faucet .

[TheOldkid888]

@drumspeak5 Hello there; hopefully you will get along with the repair. It's not a big job, but a few tips can make it go a little easier for sure. Thanks for commenting and have a large day!!! Al

[KristenMyaMUA]

Great video, very helpful. I replaced my cartridge w/ the 1225 (which was not free, only guaranteed for one year per moen). I have an older model than the one shown in this vid so there was a washer I had to take off before I could loosen the cartridge. Very easy fix (much more so than my delta kitchen faucet!), I now have very little water pressure though, all the water is back on all the way, I even tried taking that washer out & no difference. Why is it doing this and how can I fix it?

[TheOldkid888]

@KristenMyaMUA Hello Kristen;

So your water pressure is good in all the other faucets in the house?If so,I would suggest removing the aerator from the faucet itself.This is a very common problem when ever the water is turned off in anyones home.When the pressure comes off of the pipe; the minerals and sediment that are on the walls of the pipe become ajar and flow through the pipe when the water is turned back on.The aerator is where the water actually comes out of the faucet.

[TheOldkid888]

@KristenMyaMUA So what you want to do is take a pair of pliers or channel locks and remove the aerator and no doubt there will be debris in the aerator.Be careful when removing it as you don't want to damage the threads on the faucet.If it does not come off gently,try turning the pliers to another position on it and hopefully it will move for you.Good luck with it and have a great day!!! Al

[scottcog1]

don't need any grease on the cartridge??

[TheOldkid888]

@scottcog1 Hello Scott;

Moen cartridges come per-greased.I,personally,do not apply any more grease to the cartridge.Should the cartridge be left in the open air for a considerable amount of time,I am sure the grease would hard some what.Thanks for your comments and have a great day! Al

[Rakesh4502]

I'm glad you explained why hot water might come out of the right side, because i accidentally did that while installing the new one... problem solved. Thanks

[TheOldkid888]

@Rakesh4502 Hey there; Glad I could help. Yes , this is a very common problem with this cartridge, but it is easily fixed with a 180 degree turn. I am glad it worked out for you.Thanks very much for your comments and have a great weekend!!! Al

[LJMurphman]

Thank you! I got to taking out the metal clip and then was stuck. Much obliged. And indeed my replacement cartridge was free. Cheers!

[TheOldkid888]

@LJMurphman Hey Sir;Glad I could help.The white plastic tool is the answer in aiding the removal of the cartridge. Moen does guarantee the cartridge and I am happy you got your cartridge free. Awesome!!! Hope you get along with the project and enjoy your day!...Al

[TheOldkid888]

Your welcome. Glad I could help. That is the hardest part of changing the cartridge, but with a few turns of the white plastic tool that they supply; it usually makes the job a whole lot easier. good luck and have a good day.

[dewiejr1]

thank you, i have a leeky faucet that ruined our cabnets. Had spent about 2 hours trying to pull the thing out, thanks for telling me about the white thing

[TheOldkid888]

Eventually they will start to drip.The faucet will still be in good shape and it is an easy task in most cases to change the cartridge.Moen guarentees their cartridges for life.You can go to any place where the faucets are sold and ask for one for free.See the manager if their is a problem with that.Moen also has a toll free number to call as well.So fixing the faucet will not cost you anything except a little labour on your part.I get my cartridges at the hardware store.G.L...Have a good day

[ceoxtc]

Found the video interesting because I like to take things apart and I have Moen faucets. But I'm not clear on why I would need to just replace the cartridge rather than the whole faucet? Do the cartridges wear out?

[TheOldkid888]

You are very welcome. I hope it helps. Good luck and have a good day.

[Sandi216]

Thank you so much for this video!