How To Tighten A Loose Moen Single Handle Kitchen Faucet?

It is true that the sink area is the core part of any modern kitchen. When you have a stylish sink in your kitchen, the value of your kitchen will extend further. And without any arguments, a sink faucet is one of the most essential parts of a sink. You can’t imagine your kitchen without a sink faucet.

It’s very important that you take care of your kitchen faucet regularly.

And we know you will do it!

But after a long time, the base of the kitchen faucet may get loose. And if you continue to use the loosen faucet, it may cause cleft to the water supply lines.  Besides, the handle of a kitchen faucet will loosen up over time anyway. As a result, the water will be dripping out from the loosen part and that is not expected.

So what will happen if these issues happen with your kitchen faucet?

Before calling the plumber right away, you better give this article some minutes. It might save you some of your hard-earned bucks.

There are a variety of types of kitchen faucets available on the market. Among them, Moen kitchen faucet is one of the very common faucets used in the kitchen regularly. So, here we talk about a Moen faucet.

Today we are going to discuss how to tighten a loose Moen single handle kitchen faucet. Here we will cover two of the most common problems with loose parts-

• Loose base
• Loose handle

So, keep on scrolling.

Required Instruments For The Operation

Here are some of the instruments you will need during the fixing process.

• Flashlight
• Hand gloves
• Adjustable wrench
• Basin wrench
• Mini knife
• Allen wrench (3/32 inch)

You better get them ready before the operation.

How To Tighten A Base Of A Loose Moen Kitchen Faucet

Go easy on yourself…!

Just follow these steps-

Step 1: Plug Up The Drain Of The Basin

First of all, you need to plug up your basin drain to ensure that no pieces of nuts or any small parts of the faucet will drain out from there.

It’s important because, if you lost any crucial nuts, you need to buy it from stores and the drive won’t be that entertaining. So, don’t forget to close your basin drain hole with the drain cover before begin your work.

Step 2: Locate and Turn Off Water Supply Valves

Now, find the water supply valves of your kitchen faucet. Generally, two types of water supply valves are available on a Moen kitchen faucet.

• Coldwater valve
• Hot water valve

You will find these valves at the back of your Moen kitchen faucet. There might be some difficulties to reach on it without proper lighting. Hence, you can use a flashlight to do this work.

After you get the water supply valves of the faucet, shut off both valves by rotating several times in an anticlockwise direction.

Always keep in mind that you need to close the valves perfectly. Otherwise water might be dripping on you while working. This leaking water can be a cause of disturbance during your work and you won’t be able to tighten the loosen faucet properly.

So, after turning off the kitchen faucet supply line valves, turn on the handle of the faucet again and ensure that the water supply is shut off properly.

Step 3: Turn On The Valves To Release Pressure

After turning off the water supply valves, open the Moen kitchen faucet handle to release any pressure in the water supply lines.

It’s important because it will help you to do your further steps.

So, don’t skip this step.

Step 4: Pry Off The Water Lines

Now take your flashlight and try to focus on the Moen kitchen faucet base area. Here you need an adjustable wrench to pry off the water lines.

Attach the adjustable wrench between the inlet and water supply lines. So, now your work is just to turn the wrench to pry off the lines in the anticlockwise direction. And don’t forget to wear hand gloves during the job. It ensures more safety of your hands.

Step 5: Tighten The Loose Nuts On The Base Of The Faucet

You are nearly finished. You need a basin wrench to grip the loosen nuts that connect the kitchen faucet with its base. You can buy a basin wrench from any plumbing shop near your house.

After holding the loose nuts with the basin wrench, apply pressure gradually to tighten each of the loose nuts of the base of the basin. Always ensure that you have tighten the loosen nuts perfectly, otherwise you will face the same problem again.

Step 6: Check The Faucet Is Tighten Enough With The Base

After tightening the loose nuts, reconnect the water supply valves and open faucet handle to check if there is any water is leaking from the base.

If no water leakage is found, you are done!

How To Tighten a Handle of a Moen Kitchen Faucet?

Now let’s get to the loose handle part

Step 1: Clear The Sink Area And Turn Off The Water Supply Lines

At first, clear the sink top area and remove everything from there so that nothing hampers your work.

After cleaning the top of the sink, turn off the water supply lines to ensure that no water is dripping out from the lines during work. Definitely, you won’t want to see a flood in your kitchen, right?

We have told you in our previous sections where and how you will get the water supply valves to turn them off. So, we will not explain the same info here again.

Step 2: Check Your Kitchen Faucet Handle

Now, check your Moen kitchen faucet handle carefully that what mechanism it has. There is some difference in setup between a utility sink faucet and a Moen kitchen faucet. So, you should check the setup of your Moen faucet before any repair work.

You will notice two things depending on which types of Moen kitchen faucet you are using.

• A screw or hex nut attached to the end of the faucet
• A cap on the top of the kitchen faucet handle.

Step 3: Remove The Plastic Screw Or Hex Nut From The Handle

Now, when you see deeply in the handle of the kitchen faucet, you will notice that at the entrance of the faucet handle, a hex nut or a little screw is settled.

You can just use your fingernail or a little tool, like- mini knife to gently unscrew that out. It will feel to you like a loose plastic that you can easily remove from the kitchen faucet handle. You need not more than a minute to remove the nut.

Step 4: Locate The Hidden Setscrew Under The Decorative Cap

Now the tricky part of your work comes. Here you need to locate the setscrew that is hidden under the decorative cap. It’s not easy work to do only with your hand.

So, you need a proper tool to do it. You can use a screwdriver and pliers to do the job, but we recommend an Allen wrench for this work.

You can use an Allen wrench which will be enough to reach under the handle cap and make your work easier. But the size of an Allen wrench is important to consider, so find the proper size of an Allen wrench that will fit into the handle screw.

We vote for 3/32 sized Allen wrench for your work that is more comfortable to use than any other size.

The hard part of the work is to find the actual screw. So, if you enter the Allen wrench straight up inside the cap and don’t find the screw, try a little bit of angle direction.

When your Allen wrench head will find the screw, you will feel it on your hand.

Step 5: Tighten The Setscrew With The Allen Wrench

After finding the setscrew, you need to twist it in the clockwise direction to tighten it.  You don’t need to turn it for a long time, just a couple of clockwise turn is enough to tighten the loose kitchen faucet handle.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t be tightening the faucet handle too much because it will be hard for you to open the handle when you start to use it. So, keep twisting the screw until your Moen kitchen faucet handle is tightened enough.

Step 6: Reconnect The Water Supply Valves

After tightening the handle, connect the water supply valves again with the kitchen faucet. Open the faucet handle to start the water flow and check the smoothness of water. Also check the tightness of your handle.

If all is Ok, your work is over.

Final Words

There won’t be anything loose in your faucet anymore if you just know how to tighten a loose moen single handle kitchen faucet. You might not be feeling confident, but let me assure you again it is very easy to do this. And the experience will be another satisfying thing.

We hope you will love this article and it will help you to do your work.

Bye!

About Author

Den Hicks

Traveler, food lover, interior designer, and blogger. I love gardening a lot! I designed my home myself with the help of my beloved wife. You are welcome!

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