Have you dropped something down your bathroom sink drain and need to retrieve it quickly and efficiently? Luckily, this task doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming by following these easy steps.
Begin by placing a bucket beneath your sink – this will act as a catchall for any excess water that might escape while working.
1. Remove the P-Trap
Your drains use P-traps – curved pieces of plumbing designed to stop sewer gas from escaping – in order to protect you and your family from exposure to potentially hazardous levels of sewer gas. Without such measures in place, potentially dangerous fumes could leak into the home and pose health hazards for everyone in it.
The P-trap connects the sink tailpiece (the vertical pipe that protrudes from underneath it) to the drain line at one end, typically using slip nuts and beveled cone washers as connections. However, some older homes may require unscrewing harder-than-usual nuts due to corrosion or wear and tear on them – creating difficulties threading the connections or potentially making threading them impossible altogether.
If your P-trap is leaking or has become corroded, replacing it should be your top priority. Replacing it yourself is an easy DIY task that should only take 15 minutes to complete.
First, locate and unscrew both slip joint nuts by hand. This should not be too difficult with plastic P-traps; for metal ones you might require slip-joint pliers for assistance.
Once completed, clean out both the drain trap and tailpiece extending from your sink to wall fitting. This will remove soap scum or any debris that could lead to future clogging issues.
Use a small bottle brush or wire coat hanger to gently clean the interior of a drain trap, taking care not to miss any debris that might accumulate and lead to clogging in either the trap itself or in its tailpiece that connects directly from your sink. Any buildup of debris could potentially clog the trap itself and result in serious issues when draining a sink, including tailpiece clogging due to back-flow issues.
Once you’ve cleaned and assembled a new P-trap and tailpiece, reinstall its old trap by making sure it fits snuggly into its opening in the drain pipe.
Make sure that there is a bucket beneath your trap so you can drain any water that accumulates, as you will need to empty any that comes out. Check to see if your P-trap contains a cleanout nut located at the base of its bend in drain pipe – if so, simply unscrew this nut to empty its contents into a bucket.
2. Remove the Drain Flange
Your bathroom sink’s drain flange serves as the connection between its bottom and the pipe below, creating a watertight seal to prevent leaks into your home. However, over time it may become damaged or cracked and you should take steps to replace or remove it as soon as possible.
Before attempting to remove a flange, be sure to clean off any old plumber’s putty or caulk with mineral spirits (for putty) or rubbing alcohol and warm water (for silicone caulk) to loosen existing sealants and make the process much simpler. This should make removal much quicker.
Once you have removed any old putty or caulk, apply a fresh layer of plumber’s putty around the drain flange to ensure watertight seal and protection from rust or other forms of damage. This will keep it watertight as well as safeguard it against further corrosion or degradation.
Unscrew the drain flange using a wrench, but for beginners to this kind of plumbing work it may help to have locking pliers with you – these tools fit securely onto crossbars of drain baskets to make removing the flange easier without breaking any metal bars.
As a novice plumber, it may seem intimidating to undertake complex plumbing tasks such as unplugging a drain flange – however with proper instructions you can complete this job yourself!
First, you should ascertain why your flange is stuck in its current position. This could be caused by hardened plumber’s putty or some other issue in the system.
Putty can be difficult to break through, but if you believe your flange has become stuck due to an accumulation of putty, try relieving some pressure by placing a small board against it or cutting between your sink and flange using a utility knife – both strategies should help loosening things up.
Once the board has been tapped to loosen any leftover putty, use a hammer to gently tap against the underside of your sink drain flange and break any remaining putty and help loosen it so you can uninstall the flange. This should break it loose from its mount, helping you to disassemble it more easily.
3. Remove the Stopper
A sink stopper is used to ensure that a bathroom sink drain is functioning efficiently, preventing clogs and keeping odors at bay while also protecting against potential water damage or health concerns. Removing this stopper is therefore key.
Removing the sink stopper is a straightforward DIY project you can tackle yourself, and will ensure that your bathroom drain runs more efficiently. Removing it may especially prove useful if your sink has become clogged; doing this allows you to thoroughly clean out both stopper and drain line before reinstalling them again.
To remove a sink stopper, begin by inspecting it for signs of wear or damage. If in good condition, removal can usually be completed quickly without needing tools.
If a stopper is stuck in place, try loosening it by turning it counterclockwise using a flat-head screwdriver. If this does not work, use pliers to gently push out of its way using forceful pushes against it from above the drain pipe.
Leaky bathroom sink stoppers could be caused by issues with either the clevis screw, pivot rod seal or spring clip and strap. Depending on the type of drain stopper used, adjustments or replacement may be necessary in order to solve this problem.
Check the lift lever of your sink stopper to make sure it is correctly attached; otherwise it may cause issues when switching on the sink. If not installed properly, it could create operational difficulties which may impede proper functionality when operating it.
Blockages or odors could result from improper functioning of the lever; to ensure this doesn’t occur it’s essential that it remains attached. Otherwise reattach it after taking steps to make your stopper work more effectively.
To reattach the lever, unscrew its nut from the tailpiece and pull back outward from the stopper until the lever reaches the base ring where its tip should fit back in place. Once it’s out of its stopper position, slip its tip back in its spot on the base ring.
Drain stoppers are an integral component of bathroom sinks, yet many homeowners remain unaware of how easily removable they are. Removing them for cleaning or repair purposes is an effortless project which could save both time and money in the long run.
4. Remove the Drain Tailpiece
Once a sink drain becomes clogged, replacing it should be one of the simplest plumbing jobs you can tackle on your own.
To remove your bathroom sink drain, start by un-installing any cabinet doors that typically store items beneath the sink – this will provide more room to work on its plumbing.
Once all cabinets are opened, place a bucket under each pipe to catch any excess water as you dismantle and remove P-trap and strainer assemblies. Clean out your sink drain using hot water mixed with any cleaning solution to rid yourself of hair and gunk.
Next, open up the sink drain opening and use pliers to unscrew and pull out the strainer, unzipping it if necessary. Be sure to scrape away any old plumbers’ putty stuck on the drain as this step.
Unscrewing the locknut that secures the strainer will give you more space to work on both your sink and P-trap.
At last, remove the drain tailpiece (a straight pipe connected to the trap arm by a slip-nut joint) from its drain opening.
This joint is an extremely common plumbing fitting used to quickly and easily unplug bathroom sink drains. The slip nut consists of a threaded ring which can be tightened or loosened manually or with help from channel-type pliers; at its beveled end lies a washer which provides watertight seal.
Older homes may feature P-traps that were assembled using rigid pipes and fittings that have been permanently solvent glued at their joints, requiring you to cut these down to size before connecting with an adapter fitted to a new sink drain assembly that has slip fittings. To upgrade, these must be removed using cutting equipment before adapters connect them directly to an assembly with slip fittings that is more compatible.
If it is necessary to replace your drain, ensure it fits with existing piping and matches your bathroom decor – brass and bronze finishes are popular choices that look good with many types of sinks.