Bathroom Sink Drain Replacement
Recently, one of our customers reached under her bathroom sink for something and noticed that most of the things under her sink were wet. She quickly deduced that her bathroom sink was leaking and called her friendly local plumber to tackle the job.
But, there are those among us that like the feeling of taking on jobs like a bathroom sink drain replacement on themselves. For you enthusiasts out there, we thought we’d go through the steps on how to be successful in that adventure. In theory, it’s a simple procedure, but we all know the saying that “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy”.
To begin this project, you’ll need to have a few things within reach, so take this list to your local Home Depot, Lowes or another reliable hardware store. You’ll need:
- Plumbing pliers
- A sink drain assembly
- Possibly a flathead screwdriver
- Plumber’s tape
- Plumber’s putty
- Scissors
- A Towel
Begin by clearing out the stuff under the sink. You’ll want to not only clean up the mess, but you’ll need space to work in. It can get sort of cramped in there, and you don’t need anything else in your way.
Clean out any water that may be there, and put the towel under the sink. It’s never a bad idea to turn off the water just to be safe.
From there, it’s time for the toughest part- removing the old drain. Start by reaching behind the drain and unscrewing the cap around the pop-up ball and rod. Make sure you remove the stopper from the drain. From there, take the pliers and loosening and removing the P-trap from the branch drain. Make sure you drain any excess water and clean up any gunk you find (and you will definitely find a fair share of gunk).
If you encounter a nut on the drain that is too tight, simply grab the WD-40 and spray a little to try and loosen things up. It’s always best to wait a few minutes to let it soak in there before trying to loosen it again.
From there, lift the drain flange. If it’s too tight, grab your flathead screwdriver and see if you can loosen the drain. Once you have that loose, you should be able to remove the drain assembly. Take the new assembly out of the package and apply plumber’s tape around the threaded section as well as the tailpiece (basically, apply this tape wherever you see threading- including the P-trap).
Slide the slip nut and washer from the P-trap to the drain assembly tailpipe. Fit the entire assembly into the sink through the bottom and connect it with the flange collar at the top of the sink. Tighten the nut on the underside until it is snugly into the sink. Slide the P-trap into the tailpiece of the drain. Once that’s done, fit the back of the P-trap into the waste pipe that goes into the wall. Tighten both slip nuts by hand. Turn them a couple of times after that, but don’t get too overzealous.
Once everything is back in place, run a little bit of water to see how things are holding. If all goes well with that, close the sink and fill it with some water and let it sit for a few minutes. Check everything out to make sure you have no leaks. If you see any wetness, tighten the nut more and retest.
Once you’ve done all this, your sink should be ready to use! If you see any problems or you simply don’t want to do any of this, call us. We’re your friendly local plumber. We’re always happy to help.
Our Service Area
We know it’s in our name, but Gwinnett Area Plumbers is proud to provide our services all around the Gwinnett county area. We have a lot of happy customers all around Loganville all the way to Norcross, Buford, Suwanee, Norcross and beyond. Call us and we’ll be there for you.