A well-built kitchen faucet can serve you well for years. But even the best quality faucets will degrade over time and will require repair or replacement.
A replacement might be necessary for multiple reasons, a jam or clog in the waterline, rust build-up, broken handle, leaky seal, or you might just want a shiny new faucet. For that, you’ll need to remove your old faucet. Fortunately, you can do it yourself without the help of any plumber or technician.
In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about how to remove Moen kitchen faucets.
Types of Kitchen Faucets
Before approaching further, you should know of the two types of kitchen faucets. This will help you recognize which type yours is and will be useful while trying to remove the faucet.
- Single-handle Faucet
As the name suggests, this type of faucet only has one handle that opens and closes the water. Most single-handle faucets can only release water at room temperature. But modern single-handle faucets might have a switch on top to change the waterline from cold to hot.
2. Double-handle Faucet
This type of faucet has two handles to control cold and hot water. It is more common in households because of its versatility. Despite that, removing it doesn’t require much more effort than removing a single handle faucet. The procedure is fairly similar.
Removing the Faucet
Here we’ll walk you through each of the steps to removing your kitchen faucet. If done right, the faucet should be removed without doing much hassle.
Step 1 – Preparations
Before jumping right in, you’ll need some equipment to get your water line ready for removal.
The equipment you’ll need are –
These are very common tools, so you won’t need to buy anything. Also, if the space under your sink is tight, you might want to get a pillow so you can work while lying down.
If your faucet is very leaky, you might want to turn off the main water valve of your house, essentially cutting off the waterline of your entire house. That way, you can work without worrying about getting your kitchen drenched wet.
Step 2 -Removing the Supply Lines
The supply lines are the pipes that connect the faucet to the waterline. Before removing them, turn off the water supply line to the faucet by turning the water valve clockwise.
After that, take your wrench and disconnect the supply lines from the valve by turning the fitting screw clockwise. If you have a double-handle faucet, there will be two supply lines, disconnect them accordingly.
While disconnecting the supply lines, keep a small bowl or towel under the line so that the water stuck in the pipe doesn’t get you wet.
Step 3 – Disconnect the Supply Lines from the Faucet
To completely separate the supply line, work your way under the faucet and find the fitting that connects the faucet to the pipes. Disconnect the fittings using an adjustable wrench.
For double-handle faucets, there should be three supply lines connected. Remove all of them accordingly.
Step 4 – Removing the Mounting Brackets
Mounting brackets are the hardware that sticks the faucet to the sink. Modern faucet brackets can be unscrewed with just bare hands, but older faucets might have screws attaching them together.
Grab a flashlight and check if yours is hand removable or not. If it is removable by hand, then take a towel, and use the towel to hold the bracket for extra grip, and rotate clockwise. If it’s a screw, then a Philips head screwdriver should do the job.
Try to get someone to hold and push down on the faucet while you’re removing the mounting hardware. Otherwise, the entire base will move around and make things a lot harder for you.
Step 5 – Pulling Out the Faucet
Once you’ve followed through with all the steps correctly, you should be able to just pull out the faucet with a little force.
If the faucet still doesn’t come out, check to see if you’ve missed a bracket or screw. The mounting bracket is the only thing that holds the faucet to the sink, so if you remove it properly, it should come out.
Related: How To Find Moen Faucet Model Number?
Troubleshooting
Since every faucet is different and we just explained a general method of removing a kitchen faucet, you might run into some issues with your particular faucet. Here are some of the common problems related to Moen kitchen faucet removal.
- Rusty/Corrosive Mounting Bracket
If your faucet is really old or your water contains a large percentage of iron, the mounting bracket might become rusty. This will jam the screws, and you won’t be able to open them easily.
To fix it, get some penetrating oil, and apply it to the surface. Wait for a while, the rust should come loose, and you should be able to open it up.
- Inaccessible Mounting Hardware
Sometimes to fit your sink into tight spaces, the designers will sacrifice the space under your sink, making it really difficult for you to get access under the faucet.
There are not really many fixes to this. You can check the faucet’s manual to figure out where the screws are, and then you can unscrew them accordingly.
Also, if you’re planning on replacing the faucet, then you shouldn’t worry about damaging it. You can apply as much force as you want in order to remove the faucet.
One other way is to remove the entire sink, turn it upside down and then remove the faucet’s bracket. That might seem too complicated, so it’s better to seek professional help at that stage.
Conclusion
Moen has been making high-quality kitchen faucets for a long time now and is very popular. As long as you don’t face issues, removing a kitchen faucet is very simple, and the method is similar for every brand of faucet. We’ve walked you through how to remove Moen kitchen faucet, so now you can cut the hassle of calling a plumber and do it yourself. Just be wary of water leakage, and you should be fine.
My name is Rex Morriss. I have always liked well-arranged, comfy, cozy homes. This propelled me to ensure that people have the right information when purchasing homes and also that, while trying to get the interior done, the process is cost-effective but satisfying to the clients. The need for a comfy home can never be over.