Everything but the kitchen sink

It’s a well known fact all over the world that nothing can ruin your day more than a broken pipe. A leaking pipe could practically be considered a method of torture from the 21 century. The most common of all must be the old dreaded kitchen pipe right under your kitchen sink.

But you can easily avoid all this fuss if you just learn a thing or two about pipes.

 

Household plumbing pipes are installed in walls and under floors during construction. They carry fresh water to kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms, and so on. A separate system carries waste water from a sink or toilet to the main drain and out of the house to the sewer or septic system.

 

Pipes are available in different materials such as  cast-iron, brass, copper, galvanized steel, and plastic mostly depending on the location where they are installed . Fittings are connections between pipes that allow pipes to turn or attach to a fixture such as a faucet or water heater.

 

How the fittings are installed on pipe depends on the material. For example, copper pipes are soldered together or joined with compression or flare fittings. Plastic pipes are joined with plastic screw-on fittings or PVC cement. In addition, transition fittings can be used to join plastic and metal pipes.

 

Kitchen sink drain assemblies commonly consist of threaded, plastic drain pipe components. A roughly L-shaped pipe connects the wall drain to a curved P-trap, and a straight pipe extension attaches the P-trap to the sink\'s strainer.

 

If you notice a leakage from under your kitchen sink it won’t be very difficult to fix it yourself. First of all you should determine where exactly the leak is coming from.

If the leak is on the drain pipes, the water can run down the pipes and drip, say, from the bottom of the P trap. Sometimes fittings just get loose over time, and tightening the connections will solve the problem. It would be unusual for a pipe to actually be cracked, unless something has bumped it pretty hard.

 

However, should you decide you need to replace the whole drain assembly, here are a few tips :

 

First of all, don’t forget to place a bucket or something under the sink to catch the waste water from the P-trap. After the water drains slide the P-trap away from the extension pipes and remove the P-trap from the drain assembly. Loosen and remove the nut that makes the connection between the sink basin extension pipe to the sink strainer. Loosen and remove the nut that connects the wall drain extension pipe to the wall drain pipe. Throw away  the old pipes.

 

Fit the new pipe on to the straight pipe coming off the sink drain tail pipe. Turn the nut clockwise to attach it. Do not tighten all the way. Remember, it must be firmly tighten, but don’t force it.

Attach the other end of the pipe in the same way. Hand tighten both nuts carefully,  not to over tighten, or you will distort the fitting and the pipe will leak.

Run the water and, if the compression fittings on the trap start to leak, use the pliers to tighten the nuts a little more.

 

And there you go, you just fixed your leakage problem and you’re now free to enjoy the rest of your day without worrying about those dripping sounds anymore.

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