How to Seal the Drain in Your Home’s Bathroom Sink

Your bathroom drain normally does its job silently. However, every now and then, you might notice that water isn’t going down your drain pipe and is, instead, leaking out the bottom of your sink. This kind of leak often occurs when the gasket, or plumbers putty, securing the drain starts to fail.

Here are some basic instructions on how to seal the drain in your bathroom:

• First, use a pipe wrench to loosen and remove the lock nut holding your drain against the bottom of the sink.
• Then, push up against the bottom of the sink drain to break its seal with the sink itself. You don’t want to pry at it from the top because doing so could deform the flange of your drain or damage the sink.
• Next, remove any old sealant at the bottom of your drain flange with a putty knife. Make sure the depressed area around the sink drain is also clear of any built-up material.
• Afterwards, apply a bead of silicone caulk around the drain hole in the sink. Then, apply a second bead along the underside of the drain flange.
• Drop the drain flange carefully into the drain hole before applying pressure and pushing the flange down into the hole, making sure to get a tight seal between the two.
• While holding down the drain flange from above, slide the replacement gasket up against the bottom of the sink. Then, thread the lock nut and tighten it by hand.
• Next, use the pipe wrench to gently tighten the lock nut against the bottom of the sink.
• Some of the caulk will ooze out from under the sink flange, so clean this up thoroughly to prevent any staining.

At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.

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