How many of you start dialing the number of the plumber when your sink drain stops working and water starts getting collected in the sink? I’m sure many of you out there do the same. What if I tell you that you can replace your sink popup drain all by yourself that too in short span of time? Read on the steps and instructions listed below to ensure next time the sink drain starts bugging you up, you are all set to replace the sink popup drain yourself.
The Project
If the lever on your sink doesn’t move the drain plug, it’s clear that the time has come to replace the pop-up drain assembly. Using a few basic tools, you can replace the sink popup drain in about an hour. This doesn’t mean you should be blessed with the plumbing skills. All you need is go stepwise and follow the instructions.
Difficulty Level: Easy
Resources required
• Plumbers wrench
• Small water tub
• Adjustable wrench
• Channel lock
• Plumbers Putty
• Teflon Tape
Instructions
1. Remove the old pop-up drain assembly, but make sure you remove the tap first. If you have plastic assembly then you can open it easily by rotating it counter-clock wise, while on the other hand if you have metal trap, you can open it with the help of wrench by rotating it counter-clock wise. Remove both nuts that hold hole pop-up drain.
2. Catch the pop-up drain assembly tightly with the help of adjustable wrench.
3. The pop up drain holds the visible part of pop-up drain with the help of channel lock once it rises from the bottom of sink. Next, spin off the top of pop-up drain.
4. Jigsaw blade can help you cut the pop-up drain above the rod. When the old pop-up comes out, you can scrub and clean the opening.
5. Pick up the new pop-up assembly and open the top with ease.
6. Now you can roll plumber’s putty on it. Thereafter, you can place it firmly on the top of the sink.
7. Now pick up the assembly and screw it up to the top of sink until it is tight. Spin the lower nut until it is tight against the sink. Remove the excess putty around the top of drain. Drop the new stopper into the pop-up drain by pointing towards wall.
8. Take out the old rod from the trap and replace it with the new one. Take the ball-joined rod and put it in the pop-up assembly. Rotate the nut clock wise until it is tight.
9. Take one end of the clip and slip it into the ball-joined rod. Slip the strap on to the old rod, then put ball-joined rod to the second to forth hole of strap. Slide the clip on to the end of ball-joined rod. Tighten up the nut of the strap.
10. Wrap the drainpipe thread with Teflon tape and replace the top portion of the drainpipe tightly with the plumbers wrench.
Things to watch out for
• If you find any dirt around the sink drain, clean it up or anything under the sink because it can cause problem while you replace the old popup sink drain with the new one.
• Place your tools nearby so you don’t have to climb out from under the sink while or before replacing the popup sink drain.
• Clean the inside of the sink without dropping any pieces of the old plumbing or debris down the drain.
I myself considered the replacement of popup sink drain a fussy task, but the instructions listed above makes it obvious that it’s actually not a big ask at all. Surely, you all too might be sharing the same thought. So next time, the sink drain happens to cause problem, don’t look for the phone and the plumber’s number, just get the plumber kit and get the work done within no time.
