quick question

jackchips_2

or boys with long hair in the family, Anthony?

The usual culprit is hair and can usually be cleaned out from the top. You could try a coat hanger.

If it's beyond the tail piece you could try taking the clean out plug (if there is one) off the trap and see if that is plugged.

If it's beyond the trap you could try a good cleaning fluid or it has to be plunged out or snaked.

Good luck,

Jack

Anthony Praga

stupid question

sorry for the stupid question but what would i have to do if everytime i use the bathroom faucet the water does not drain it just stays in the sink and i have to physically make it go down?

~Anthony

Anthony Praga

fix

how would i fix this problem?

jp_2

well?

how about, clean out the drain?

Charles G.

Drain

This is a trick question, right?

Steverino

hmmm...

best idea would be to purchase another p-trap (1-1/4" is the correct size for your bathroom). I'd go with a pvc one...you likely have a chrome plated brass one in there right now...it will disintegrate once you start to take it apart (or start messin' with it at all).

John Starcher_4

Anthony -

the other replies are correct. It's probably a hair ball, and most likely stuck in the pop-up assembly. The pop-up is the plunger that moves up and down when you operate the rod in the center of the faucet to "close" the drain, like if you want to fill the sink. (Right now, you're filling the sink without the desire to do so :-) )

First, get a bucket. Place it under the sink trap (the J shaped drain fitting at the bottom of the sink). Using a pair of channel-lock pliers, loosen the two slip nuts that hold the trap assembly to the rest of the drain pipes. You may need to hold the trap with one hand while you loosen the nuts, to prevent it from turning. Once you have the nuts loose, you can finish turning them by hand. Once they are completely loose, the trap will come loose. Be careful that your bucket is big enough, if the sink is standing full of water, 'cuz once you remove the trap, the water in the sink will empty into your bucket!!

Inspect the trap for any blockage, and clean out whatever you may find inside it. Also, you should remove the pipe that goes from the trap to the wall and clean it out. There is usually another "slip" nut where the pipe goes into the wall that you'll have to loosen. While you have that pipe out, take a peek into the pipe in the wall, to see if there's any crud in there. If so, use a coat hanger, or a piece of 1/4" copper tubing hammered flat, and bent into a hook to clean out what you can.

Finally, look up into the "tailpiece" pipe, where the sink itself connected to the trap. I'm guessing you'll find a big ole' wad of hair in there. On the back side of the tailpiece you should see a rod that sticks out. This is connected to the rod that sticks up through the faucet to operate the drain plunger. Disconnect the two rods, being careful to note how they were put togeher. Where the horizontal rod is attached to the tailpiece, you should see what looks like a compression nut. If you unscrew this nut, the whold rod assembly should come out, and you can then remove the plunger from the sink drain. This will allow you to clean out any boogers that are inside.

After everything is cleaned, put all the pieces-parts back together. You may need to replace the gaskets at the trap slip nuts, and those can be purchased at any hardware store. If the trap is plastic, you should only need to get the slip nuts good and hand-tight. Leave the bucket under the trap, in case you have any drips. Run some water in the sink. If it drains ok, and nothing that you reassembled is leaking, then close the drain plunger and fill the sink up. Once full, open the plunger, and let it drain. This is a good test to make sure nothing is leaking.

If this doesn't work, then you most likely have a clog in the drain pipe beyond the wall connection. Get back to us and we can advise you further, if this is the case.

Feel free to email me if you need any further help. I'll give you my cell # and try to talk you through it.

Starch