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    lbricker's Avatar
    lbricker Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Jan 12, 2010, 10:17 PM
    Moen Kitchen Faucet - Low Water Pressure
    Hi, I have a 5-year old Moen kitchen faucet that abruptly lost water pressure a couple of weeks ago, while the water pressure in the rest of the house is good.

    Some background... I have been going through the faucets in our home, gradually fixing various dripping issues. I started replacing the 1225 cartridge in our 1-handle, pull-out spout, Moen kitchen sink. (This is the faucet with the current low pressure.) Replacing the cartridge stopped the leak, and the water pressure was fine. A couple of weeks after that, I turned off the water supply to the house to fix a leak in our shower. After fixing the leak, I turned the water supply back on, and water pressure to all of the faucets was still good. One note, I was the only one home after turning the water back on, so water usage would have been low during this time. Also, I left to pick up my family, so there would have been a day where no water was used.

    When we all got back, the kitchen faucet worked fine for the first few times, but then the pressure suddenly diminished and hasn't been the same since. Both the hot and cold water have the same low pressure. This has been an issue for approximately 3 to 4 weeks now.

    In researching the issue through the askmehelpdesk website, I went through all of the solutions that I could find. I have dismantled the faucet and did not find anything blocking the aerator or inline filter. I have not found any loose particles in the diverter. I have cleaned the cartridge several times, and have not found anything. I even took the cartridge apart to clean, which I hope was not an issue... I have poured water back through the hose and the inlets to make sure there were no blockages there. I have done each of these items 3 or 4 times, but the water pressure to the kitchen sink has remained consistently low.

    The pressure to the dishwasher, which is through the same hot water line to the sink, appears to be fine based on how loud it is and from plastic cups being tossed around.

    I am trying to expand my solution search, so I did flush out the hot water heater this weekend and then dismantled and cleaned the kitchen sink again. While outside flushing the tank, I turned the outside spigots on to flush out any particles there. One spigot was fine, but the other outside spigot would not turn on and appeared to be frozen. (We live in TN, and the temperatures have been running 15-25 degrees fahrenheit.) The outside spigot that would not turn on receives its cold water supply right below the kitchen cold water supply. However, since both the hot and cold water have low pressure, I am not sure if this could be the issue. It was also similar cold weather when the issue originally started, and, along with the low usage, may have frozen somewhere in the line. However, we have had temps in the 50s during this period, with no improvement to the kitchen water pressure. Temperatures are going back up over the next couple of days, and I will try the line again. I will also try spraying some water on the pipes in the crawl space to see if anything appears frozen further up the line...

    Any ideas or other suggestions to try?

    Thanks!!
    kssilva's Avatar
    kssilva Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #2

    Jul 26, 2010, 07:42 PM
    lbricker,

    Did anyone ever answer you? I am having the exactly same problem with my 18 month old Moen faucet. It was suddenly very HOT here, though. I've had this problem in the winter a couple times since installing the faucet and I blamed it on frozen pipes, but now with the hot weather and the same problem. I don't get it. We haven't done any plumbing lately, so I am stumped about what could be wrong. The only weird thing is that we suddenly had a problem with our washer not spinning out. I think that is probably just a coincidence, though. Please share any solutions you found. Thanks!

    -Kim in Oregon
    tjvig61's Avatar
    tjvig61 Posts: 2, Reputation: 2
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    #3

    Sep 8, 2010, 07:02 AM
    I have the same problem. I have a Moen faucet as well. Its 10 years old with a sprayer. I took the faucet apart and found nothing wrong with it. About a week ago the pressure just dropped in both hot and cold. I think there is a defect in the design on the Moen faucets. I am taking a trip to home depot today to see if there is a tool I can use to pull the diverter out and either clean it or replace it. I was able to pull the diverter stem out. Everything was clear and free flowing. The other reason I think this happened is that its been so hot for so long that it may have to do with the humidity and it having an effect on the plastic and metal pipes. Otherwise everything else that uses water pressure in my house is working fine.
    lbricker's Avatar
    lbricker Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    Sep 13, 2010, 04:20 AM
    I never did figure out what had happened with our Moen faucet. Rather than spend the money towards a repair, we installed a new faucet and have not had any issues since.
    speedball1's Avatar
    speedball1 Posts: 29,301, Reputation: 1939
    Eternal Plumber
     
    #5

    Sep 13, 2010, 07:20 AM
    Hi tjvig,
    Quote Originally Posted by ;
    I think there is a defect in the design on the Moen faucets. I am taking a trip to home depot today to see if there is a tool I can use to pull the diverter out and either clean it or replace it. I was able to pull the diverter stem out.
    I got to hunch you're confusing a diverter with a cartridge, (see image) and yes! Moen does make a tool to extract those stubborn cartridges,(see image).
    The other reason I think this happened is that its been so hot for so long that it may have to do with the humidity and it having an effect on the plastic and metal pipes.
    That's simply not so! It doesn't work that way'
    Did you check the screens on the aerator? When you shut the water off to the faucet and remove the cartridge place a pan over the open valve body and turn on the hot and cold for a moment to flush out the supplies. There should be a strong stream when you do this. If not click back and tell me.
    I think there is a defect in the design on the Moen faucets.
    This is simply not true. My company has used Moen faucets in all then hundreds of condos that we've plumbed. We use Moen because they gave the least problems and were the easiest to service when they did.
    Try my suggestions and if you still have a problem click on back. Good luck. Tom
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    kssilva's Avatar
    kssilva Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #6

    Sep 15, 2010, 07:12 AM
    Hi, everyone!

    We called our plumber about the above problem and he said that we probably needed a new cartridge. I couldn't believe it after reading that others were just replacing their cartridges after 30-40 years, so I called Moen to ask questions about our warranty and replacement parts. They were very nice. The man stayed on the phone with me for about 45 minutes! He walked me through taking the faucet apart and putting it back together. We didn't find any problems, but as we took apart the faucet we cleaned each piece. The technician suspected we had some sediment somewhere in the faucet. Now, it works great and I couldn't be happier. I definitely recommend calling Moen directly with any problems. They are much nicer than American Standard.

    I had to call American Standard about how to remove the stopper from our 18 month old faucet in our bathroom (we had a bunch of plumbing work done at once) and the woman was blatantly hostile that I didn't know how to do this. I guess my expectations were raised by my experience with Moen. From now on, Moen all the way in this family.

    -Kim in Oregon
    massplumber2008's Avatar
    massplumber2008 Posts: 12,832, Reputation: 1212
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    #7

    Sep 15, 2010, 07:14 AM

    It's the only faucet we recommend to our customers, Kim.

    Thanks for posting!

    Mark
    tjvig61's Avatar
    tjvig61 Posts: 2, Reputation: 2
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    #8

    Sep 15, 2010, 07:21 AM
    I called Moen with my manual in hand and they sent me a diverter and hot and cold cartridges at no cost. I replaced the diverter and it works fine. The o-ring at the bottom rots away and can clog the sprayer and faucet. The old diverter is fine, all I need to get is a new o-ring. I saved the old diverter and installed the new one. When I turned the water back on the o-ring particles collected in the sprayer head. I cleaned it out and everything is as good as new.
    speedball1's Avatar
    speedball1 Posts: 29,301, Reputation: 1939
    Eternal Plumber
     
    #9

    Sep 15, 2010, 12:26 PM

    TJ,
    We thank you for the update. Always glad to hear back from our answers. Regards, Tom
    AuroraEd's Avatar
    AuroraEd Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #10

    Feb 26, 2012, 08:13 PM
    I had replaced the Moen cartridge and of course had the hot/cold backwards. But I also had very little pressure. I was about to buy a new faucet when I read here and elsewhere that you may have stirred up some contamination when replacing the cartridge. That's exactly what my problem was, as soon as I flushed out the filter before my removable spout and at my spout I got all my water pressure back. Don't ever quit.
    Thanks,
    Ed
    Amerry's Avatar
    Amerry Posts: 1, Reputation: 2
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    #11

    Jan 21, 2013, 12:46 PM
    My Moen single lever kitchen faucet has had low pressure since August '12 whne my hot water heater was replaced. I've tried all recommendations including the clogged aerator suggestion to no avail. I refuse to call a plumber for $150. Last resort before purchasing new faucet. Checked flexible metal hose leading through to the all in one faucet handle, unscrewed it. There is another (second) screen inside that hose where it joins the handle! Clogged 90%. Cleaned it. Perfection! So simple!
    MerryH's Avatar
    MerryH Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #12

    Feb 4, 2013, 03:31 AM
    I'm having the same problem. My 2-yr old Moen Torrance kitchen faucet started running slow about a month ago. Today the flow was noticeably weaker. I took the aerator off and cleaned it - there were several little black chunks of debris in it. The flow was still weak even after the cleaning. The kitchen faucet is the only one affected. I'm calling Moen tomorrow for help.
    MerryH's Avatar
    MerryH Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #13

    Feb 4, 2013, 01:13 PM
    Moen sending replacement part #1255 "replacement cartridge" to arrive before 2/13. Will this be a job I can handle? Appreciate any advice. Thank you
    What is the purpose of the "replacement cartridge"?
    Should I clean out the old part and save for back-up?
    Is this going to happen again? Hope not.
    afaroo's Avatar
    afaroo Posts: 4,006, Reputation: 251
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    #14

    Feb 5, 2013, 12:24 AM
    I am not sure what faucet do you have but open the PDF file below will show you theexploded parts list you be able to figure it out how to replace the 1255 cartridge, Thanks.

    John



    http://www.moen.com/shared/docs/expl...ews/7560pt.pdf
    austin944's Avatar
    austin944 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #15

    Mar 10, 2013, 12:07 PM
    I had a similar problem with a Moen 7900 kitchen faucet. After replacing both of the 1224 cartridges, there was low water pressure on both hot/cold and with the sprayer. Then I unscrewed the sprayer head and turned on the water and it shot out of there, along with some gunk. Now the pressure is fine on both hot/cold. The sprayer head still seems clogged so I plan to buy a new one.
    Handyman2007's Avatar
    Handyman2007 Posts: 988, Reputation: 73
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    #16

    Mar 10, 2013, 05:39 PM
    I am going to share a story. I was once called by a customer because they were having this same issue as everyone has mentioned. It was not a Moen faucet though. I asked the customer if anything had been done in regards to any piping in the home or outside. The husband told me that the town had installed a new meter in the house and had turned off the main then turned it back on when they finished and they had two faucets with low pressure after that. I went to the bathroom that was having a problem and sure enough the water was extremely slow running. Went back and checked the sink and the same thing. I got under the sink in the kitchen and closed and reopened the individual shut off valves on each line. Viola,, lots of pressure in the kitchen. Went back to the bathroom and did the same thing - lots of water. Ever since that time, I regularly close and open these individual shut off valves, The journals in these valves are pretty small and they get all gunked up after a while. Plus by doing this a couple of times a year, it keeps them working so when you do have to use them, they don't break off in you hand like I have had several do.
    afaroo's Avatar
    afaroo Posts: 4,006, Reputation: 251
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    #17

    Mar 10, 2013, 11:46 PM
    Hello handyman,

    Thanks for sharing your story with us but in Austin case it does not work.

    Austin:

    Before you buy a new sprayer head I would suggest to disconnect the sprayer form the line get a glass or anything put some white vinegar in it and put the sprayer head let is soak for a few hours and put it on now try and see if it clean and the water flow is good if not then you need a new one, good luck.

    John
    davang55's Avatar
    davang55 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #18

    Jan 3, 2015, 11:56 AM
    Thanks to Amerry for the solution! I had the same problemm with my Moen kitchen faucet. Didn't know there was a screen at the base of the spray handle as well as the aerator setup. Saved me a lot of time and money!
    rexew's Avatar
    rexew Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #19

    Jan 24, 2015, 03:03 PM
    SOLUTION! Same problem, and it had me perplexed. The water pressure would vary some, and using the sprayer would cause the main faucet pressure to briefly improve. I had the bright idea of using air pressure to blow things out. I don't recommend that, but it caused me to discover the problem. I disconnected the black T from the faucet spout, which is pretty easy by removing the clip that holds it in place. I unscrewed the sprayer head from the hose, and shot air into the line. The blast of air forced the faucet valve to open. Water blasted out of the dangling hose below, drenching my legs! HAR! (Yeah, maybe turning off the water supply would have been smart.) I turned off the faucet, laughed at myself, hooked the line back up to the spout --- and had great water pressure!! Then I turned around and saw some parts lying on the floor. The air pressure had blown the small diverter cartridge and it's O ring out of the T section. With nothing leaking below, I figured what the heck. The only drawback, is you have a little less water pressure at the sprayer, but still more than we had with the low pressure problem. So, the quick and easy fix is just to disconnect the hose from the spout at the T section, fish out that diverter insert, which was catching debris, and you should be fine.
    (Cleaning screens in spout and sprayer might still be necessary at some point, but no problem so far.)

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