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Project Difficulty:
Moderate
Estimated
Project Time: 2 hours, not including drying time for adhesive
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| Tools and Materials: |
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Pipe wrench
Large pliers, as needed
Miniature hacksaw, as needed
Long-nose pliers
Hammer
Screwdriver
Rags
Strainer
Plumber's putty, or silicone caulking and caulking gun
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You open the cupboard under the kitchen sink to grab some paper towels, and lo and behold, your under-the-sink supplies are all wet. After fumbling for a flashlight, you aim it belligerently at the drainpipes, and, sure enough, there’s a traitorous drip falling from the sink trap. But wait! Before accusing an innocent trap of not doing its job, look again. Even though water is dripping from the bottom of the trap, many times it is actually the sink strainer that’s the culprit. To be sure, shine your flashlight on the underneath of the sink bowl. If you see water around the strainer’s rubber gasket, there’s your leak.
The strainer is the drain fitting in the middle of kitchen sink bowl that strains out food and other particles as the water goes into the drain hole. If you look in the sink, even though you can’t see it, plumber's putty is under the strainer’s chrome flange; this helps seal the strainer to the sink from above. Underneath the sink are a rubber gasket, thin cardboard gasket, and a large spud nut. (Very old strainers might have a metal washer rather than a cardboard gasket.) The nut tightens up and pulls the chrome lip down against the sink and the rubber gasket attempts to seal from below. The thin cardboard gasket's purpose is to have the nut slide around easily on the rubber gasket without catching and binding.
Sometimes the nut can loosen, usually because the plumber’s putty has hardened and cracked over time, causing a gap so that the nut isn’t holding the strainer snugly to the sink anymore. This allows the water to travel under the strainer's chrome lip and drip down the pipes. Most of the time simply tightening the nut won't stop the leak--by this time the plumber’s putty won't hold the water back anymore. If tightening the nut doesn’t help, you’ll need to reseal the strainer. If the spud nut is broken or the strainer shows signs of too much wear and tear, such as a worn chrome finish, replace it. The following shows you how.
Before you begin, keep in mind there will be two nuts involved in removing the strainer. There’s an attachment nut holding the drain tailpiece to the strainer. Then there’s a very large spud nut holding the strainer to the sink bowl. You’ll need to remove both of these.
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1.
Remove the Drain Tailpiece
First remove the drain tailpiece from the old strainer by loosening the attachment nut immediately underneath the strainer (in the storage area under the sink). This holds the drain tailpiece onto the strainer. Most plastic nuts will loosen by hand, but metal ones can corrode; you may need a pipe wrench or large pliers to loosen them. If that doesn't work, you may need to saw diagonally across the spud nut with a miniature hacksaw. (Fig. 1)
Many times the strainer will turn in the sink as you turn the attachment nut. If this happens, you will have to insert some sort of tool into the strainer from above to stop it from turning--an internal spud wrench can do the trick, but long-nose pliers work very well, too. Stick the long nose into the top of the strainer and it will jamb the strainer in place so that the nut can be turned without having the strainer move as well.
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2.
Remove the Strainer's Nut
With the drain tailpiece no longer attached to the strainer, you can now remove the strainer from the sink bowl (Fig. 2). Looking up under the sink, you will note how large the nut is. If the nut doesn’t unscrew easily, you’ll need to knock it in a counterclockwise direction. For this you’ll need a very large pipe wrench, very large pliers, or a spud wrench. Sometimes if the nut is stubborn, you’ll have to cut it off using a miniature hacksaw.
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3.
Remove the Strainer
Once the nut falls off, remove the strainer. Replace it if it is rusted or damaged.
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4.
Clean the Surface
Remove the hardened, cracked plumber’s putty around the top of strainer hole in the sink, and clean the recessed area in the sink into which the new strainer flange will seat.
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5.
Install the Strainer
Once the surface is clean and dry, insert a bead of silicone caulking or plumber's putty around the recessed lip of the sink and around the underside lip of the new strainer. Insert the strainer into the sink hole and squish it down tight against the sink--some silicone or putty should squish up around the lip as it squeezes out between the sink and the strainer.
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6.
Install Strainer's Nut
Install the new rubber gasket (which comes with your new strainer) underneath--it should squash into the silicone and stay. Next, insert the cardboard gasket and large nut. Then tighten the nut, holding the strainer in place via the long-nose pliers sticking down through the strainer hole. Once hand tight, use a pipe wrench and tighten it slightly more. Note: If your strainer doesn’t come with a cardboard gasket, you’ll need to put a dab of dishwashing liquid on the nut so that it slides easily.
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7.
Reinstall the Drain Tailpiece
Reattach the drain tailpiece (Fig. 3). Let the silicone caulking or putty dry completely before running water in the sink.
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