Faucet drips or the handle feels stiff: replacing your faucet cartridge step by step

A faucet that drips when it is off, or a lever that has become stiff or rough to operate, almost always needs a faucet cartridge replacement rather than a new faucet. Ella 2-piece and 5-piece fast-fill faucets use serviceable cartridges (a 40 mm high-flow cartridge in the 2-piece design), and both faucet families are built so the cartridge can be swapped from the deck with basic hand tools: a 3 mm Allen wrench for both, plus a 17 mm socket for the 5-piece. Replacement cartridges are available through a support ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support; send a photo of your faucet with your model and serial number so the right set is matched.

Which Faucet Do You Have?

Both include a hand shower with 5 flow settings limited to 1.9 GPM, on a 5 foot retractable stainless braided hose. The 2-piece versus 5-piece article has photos of each set. Before starting any cartridge work, shut off the hot and cold water supplies; supply lines and shut-off valves explains where those valves should be.

2-Piece Faucet: The Printed 5 Steps

The specification sheets print cartridge replacement in five steps:

1. Remove the Hot/Cold screw hole cover.
2. Allen wrench out the handle screw.
3. Remove the handle and brass escutcheon.
4. Wrench off the pressure cap.
5. Swap the cartridge.

2-Piece Faucet: Watch It Done

The video adds these useful details to the printed steps: Watch: Ellas Bubbles: Two Piece Faucet Cartridge Replacement with chapters and a full transcript.

• Use a 3 mm Allen wrench on the handle bolt after removing the decorative bolt cover, then lift off the spout handle.
• Unscrew and remove the escutcheon plate, loosen and remove the brass locking collar, then simply lift out the cartridge.
• When installing the new cartridge, make sure the two guide posts line up with the receptacles in the spout housing. The cartridge seats correctly only when both guide posts are in position.
• Replace and tighten the brass locking collar securely without over torquing, hand tighten the escutcheon plate, refit the handle, tighten the Allen bolt, and replace the bolt cover.
• Orientation check: the red side should be on the left for hot and the blue should be on the right for cold.

5-Piece Faucet Handle Cartridge

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Cartridge Replacement 5 Piece with chapters and a full transcript.

1. Remove the red or blue cap on the handle.
2. Using a 3 millimeter Allen wrench, loosen the bolt and lift off the handle.
3. Remove the plastic collar under the handle.
4. Using a 17 millimeter socket wrench, loosen and remove the cartridge.
5. Check for debris, foreign objects, or calcification. If needed, clean with a soft brush and rinse. Light buildup often causes the stiffness, and a cleaning can save you the replacement.
6. Replace the cartridge and tighten. Do not over torque.
7. Replace the plastic collar, put the handle back on facing the correct position, tighten the Allen bolt firmly without over torquing, and replace the colored cap.

If water keeps flowing from the spout with a handle turned fully off, the valve is not sealing and the team supplies a replacement valve after a photo check; you can move just its cartridge into your existing valve body. That case is covered in water keeps flowing with the valve off. A diverter that sticks or sends water to the wrong outlet is a different valve, covered in diverter valves and replacements.

Why Cartridges Stiffen

The calcification the video mentions is mineral scale from hard water, and it affects every valve on the deck, including the diverters and the thermostatic control valve on tubs that have one. If your water is hard, the inline filter and cleaning routine in hard water and your tub slows the buildup and stretches the life of every cartridge.

Warranty Notes

Ella brand faucets are covered as parts under the tub warranty for the original owner at the original installation address, while non-Ella faucets carry their own manufacturer warranty; the details are in warranty exceptions for the TCV and faucets. Labor is not covered, and these steps are simple enough that most homeowners or any local plumber can complete them in a few minutes.

Reversing Which Way the Handles Turn

Some installations end up with handles that rotate toward the wall to open, which is awkward from the seat. You do not need to move the valve bodies or re-plumb anything. The cartridges do not flip, but they can be swapped: remove both cartridges as shown above, install the one from the hot valve in the cold valve body and the one from the cold valve in the hot valve body, and reassemble. Each handle now turns the opposite way. Because the supply lines have not moved, hot is still hot and cold is still cold; only the sweep of the handles changes.

Before assuming a cartridge has worn out, check that it is tight. Cartridges rarely go bad. A far more common finding is a cartridge that has worked loose, usually because a bather pushes the handle hard past the stop every time. Once the nut is loose nothing holds the bottom of the cartridge in place, so the handle no longer closes the valve fully and water runs after shutoff. A tell-tale sign is water sitting inside one valve casing when the handle is removed while the other side is bone dry. Snug the cartridge nut with the socket first. If the valve still will not shut off, ask for a replacement.

On older faucets the retaining nut sometimes refuses to tighten after a cartridge change, even with a new cartridge. Check the threads on the cartridge stem and inside the nut for stripping before forcing anything, and send close-up photos through your ticket so the team can match the replacement valve. Because Ella has several faucet designs and the tub model does not identify the faucet, a photo of the faucet with your ticket lets the team reply with a short removal video for your specific faucet, including the socket size that fits the cartridge nut.

Related Guides

• Leaking Diverter or Thermostatic Control Valve: Identifying Your Faucet and Ordering the Right Replacement
• Why Does the Faucet Drip for a While After I Shut It Off?
• Buying a Fast-Fill Faucet Set or Valve Body on Its Own: Specs, Finishes and Deck Hole Size
• Faucet Supply Hose Leaking Under the Deck: Access, Identification and Replacement
• Hand Sprayer Runs Hot but the Tub Spout Is Only Lukewarm: What to Check
• Replacing a Failed Thermostatic Control Valve: Cleaning First, Cartridge Versus Whole Valve, and How to Order

Common Questions

Still need help? Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your serial number and a photo of the faucet, and our technical support team will be glad to walk you through it, including by live video. You can also call (800) 480-6850.