I have a twofold problem. 1) When I pull up the "bonnet" to get a drink of water or brush my teeth, the bonnet doesn't want to move. It takes the strength of ten men to move it up. It used to slide up and down easily, but no longer. 2) It will turn to the right for cold water, but when turned to the left for hot, there is only a thin stream of water that takes forever to warm up.

My husband is handy enough that we have never had a repairman, but he says in order to fix this faucet, he will have to dismantle the entire faucet or even replace the whole business which means replacing the entire sink and cabinet. Is he correct?

Any way you can post a pic of this faucet ? In the interim, usually and with proper tools, faucet can be repaired w/o removing sink and cabinet. Back to you. Milo

The owner before us worked for Sears and remodeled both kitchen and bathroom with materials from that store. We moved here in 1972, so he had probably remodeled during the '60s.

Here is what the bathroom faucet looks like --

Moen 4621 Single Handle Centerset Bathroom Faucet from the Chateau Collection (http://www.faucetdirect.com/moen-4621-single-handle-centerset-bathroom-faucet-from-the-chateau-collection/p80040)

If it is Moen faucet than repairs are relatively easy. Also Moen offers true "lifetime warranty" on their products. All you need is a new cartridge and bonnet nut under the handle. Call Moen, explain to them your problem and they will send you replacement parts for free. Here is the contact info:

Call: 1-800-Buy-Moen (1-800-289-6636)
8:00 am to 8:00 pm EST Monday through Friday
9:00 am to 5:30 pm EST Saturday
Closed on Sundays and all nationally observed holidays.

Back to you... Milo

Excellent answer by Milo. Simply replace the cartridge.
Clicking on;http://www.moen.com/consumersupport/installation/moen0133/moen0133.cfm
Will get you to a installation guide for replacing a Moen cartridge. Good luck, Tom

Our water is from Lake Michigan, but I do find lime and an orangy-colored buildup around the faucet base (and in the kitchen too). Could there just be gunk preventing the bonnet from sliding up and down?

Hello Wondergirl,

It sounds like you have problem with the cartridge, Close the angle valves under the sink, open the link below will show you the exploded parts view of your faucet,1 remove the plug, to the screw, 3 the knob, 4the dome, 5the cartridge nut and the cartridge.
Now open the angle valves one at a time for a few seconds to flush out any dirt out of the faucet, reassemble and try if it works if not it is time to replace the cartridge, and you can get one for free from Moen call the at 800-289-6636, good luck.

John


http://www.moen.com/shared/docs/exploded-parts-views/4621pt.pdf



Sorry guys we were typing at the same time, Thanks.

Best Regards,
John

If the faucet is the original faucet from old remodel than O-rings and other seals are probably stiff and not as flexible as they used to be. Also, lubricant is probably long gone. Yes, minerals in water also add to the problem. So it may be combination of several things.

I'll mention all this to my husband (he'll wonder how I got so smart all of a sudden), and probably first try to clean out under the bonnet thing. And yes, it's the original faucet. In the past, he has cured the problem by sliding it up and down real fast for about ten or twelve times, so maybe he was lubricating it? That doesn't work any longer.

Thanks to all of you for your help. The Plumbing board rocks!