At some point, every kitchen needs a make-over. Whether it’s because they’ve grown tired and old, or because of wear and tear things have stopped working the way they used to and they just need to be freshened up a little.
Whatever the reason is, there will come a time when you’ll seriously need to consider removing and replacing your Moen kitchen faucets.
Thinking about replacing your Moen faucets can be a little scary and you’ll probably start reaching for your phone to track down a reliable plumber, call them and pay the professionals to do it for you.
While that’s a perfectly good way to approach the seriousness of the job at hand, there’s no need to be scared, because removing a Moen kitchen faucet is actually incredibly straightforward and far easier than it seems and appears to be.
In fact, with a little know-how and application, anyone can change a Moen faucet and by following our simple guide to sprucing up your kitchen sink, you’ll save time, money and be confident in the knowledge that your faucets will not only look the way you want them to but that you’ll also have a ready supply of hot and cold running water whenever you turn them on.
And if anything does go wrong? You’ll also be ready and able to fix your Moen faucets, and that means that you’ll never need to rely on a plumber to change your kitchen faucet ever again.
The Moen Look and the M-PACT Way
Moen has always had an eye for detail and engineer their faucets with simplicity and elegance of design in mind and because of this, the M-PACT system that a lot of their faucets are based on uses interchangeable parts which means that Moen faucets can easily be swapped out for a newer model.
And best of all? You won’t even have to scramble under your kitchen sink with a wrench to remove the faucet and install a new one. As Moen says, changing an M-PACT faucet is as easy as changing a light bulb
Taking a Moen Faucet Apart
While it’s easy to change an M-PACT faucet, and even though you’re not going to be immersing yourself in an abundance of plumbing, pipes, and washers, a faucet is still a faucet, and just to be the one the safe side, it’s always best to turn the water off at the mains and run the system dry before you begin.
Just flip the water off at the mains, turn the hot and cold faucets on in your kitchen and leave them run until all of the water in your household plumbing system has been drained.
How will you know when the system is empty? When water stops flowing out of the faucet, that’s when you’ll know that there’s none left in the system and that’s when you can get stuck in and start removing your Moen M-PACT faucet.
Do you want to start with the faucet or the spout? It doesn’t matter which way around you do it, if you’re going to swap both out (which you almost certainly are), the old ones need to go.
So, let’s start with the spout. M-PACT spouts are attached to the unit and held in place by an Allen screw, so all you’ll need to remove it is a set of Allen wrenches – as they’re designed to be universal, on any set, there’ll be one that’ll fit the screw.
Simply insert the Allen wrench into the screw and begin turning it counterclockwise and the screw and spout should both become loose enough to remove by hand. If the screw is covered by a small panel (which some are), pop the panel off with a flat-head screwdriver, which will then reveal the Allen screw that you’ll need to remove.
And removing the faucets is even easier. They’re usually hand tight, so firmly grip the faucet in one hand and begin to twist the base of the faucet counterclockwise.
It should start to loosen almost immediately, but if it doesn’t and you need to apply a little more pressure, begin to push the faucet clockwise while still turning the base counterclockwise. The faucet should then lift straight off, and expose, the M-PACT cartridge underneath.
Rebuilding Your Moen Faucet
Once you’ve removed the faucet and the spout, and before you replace them, you’ll need to ensure that the cartridges are clean and free from debris. Quickly wipe them down with a cloth and you’ll be ready to replace your faucets.
Fix your new spout in place by holding it carefully in one hand while slowly tightening the Allen screw until there is no movement left in it. Don’t over tighten it as that can make it difficult to remove in the future if you want to change your spout again.
Before you begin to tighten the bases of your faucets, make sure that the on and off positions of both the hot and cold units are lined up correctly so that when the faucets are turned on or off, they’ll be in a position that you’re already familiar with and used to.
Then hand tighten the base of the faucets by holding the faucet in place and turning the base unit in a clockwise direction until it is tight. After you’ve tightened both the spout and faucets, you can switch your water mains back on, and your new Moen faucets will be ready to supply all of the cold and hot water that you’ll want them too.
What If My Moen Faucet Isn’t An M-PACT Unit?
Again, you don’t need to worry, as Moen makes sure that all of their kitchen faucets are easy to change. They’re fixed in place with either an Allen or a Phillips screw and can be easily removed with a set of Allen wrenches or a screwdriver.
Remove the screws, and the unit should come away by hand. You’ll then need to remove the base components, which again are held in place by screws, so depending on what kind of screws they use, you can remove them with your Allen wrench or Phillips screwdriver.
As soon as you’ve removed them, wipe down the cartridges, and you’ll be ready to fix your new Moen faucet in place. And to do that? You just reverse all the steps that you took to remove their predecessors and tighten the faucets instead of loosening them.
As soon as your Moen faucets are secured, you can switch your water back on and dive straight back into enjoying your kitchen again.
