Leak under Kitchen sink

[Clarence Martin]

Got a Kitchen sink . The 2 bowl kind. The left side seems fine. It is the right side that is the problem. Turned the water on for a couple of days so that the pipe would not freeze up. It's been REAL COLD !! Well, I went upstairs to check on the water, and I found a sauce pan full of water in the cabinet under the sink. I happened to leave a sauce pan under that sink and it turns out it was in the right spot to catch all the water.

Drained all the water and cleaned everything up, but I found where the leak is coming from. It on the edge of the flange??? that screws into the bottom of the sink.

What are my options on fixing it ? Do I have to buy a whole new sink, or can I just replace the parts under the sink that are leaking ?

[Kent A Bathurst]

............I found where the leak is coming from. It on the edge of the flange??? that screws into the bottom of the sink.............

It is leaking around the drain connection?

[Clarence Martin]

Yes, small leak on the left side of the round part that screws into the bottom of the sink right under where the strainer is.

[Wes Mitchell]

If I'm understanding the problem correctly, I think you can just pull the flange off, put a rope of plumber's putty on the flange, then re-tighten it.

[ken masoumi]

+1 to use Plumber's putty,some older drains use rubber seals which get brittle and crack.

[Kent A Bathurst]

What I don't get is this: How did the water get to that spot? Was the drain completely backed up, so there was standing water around the flange? IN normal use, the water would just flow past that joint into the drain.

Sealing the drain flange is a legit step. BUT - I'm wondering how/why the problem happened........was the drain pipe frozen, so the continuous inbound flow filled up a frozen drain? [great move, BTW - kept the supply line from freezing].

Just wondering if you are treating the symptom, and not the disease.....................

[Mike Lassiter]

Clarence are you talking about a leak from the sink basket that fastens on the bottom of the sink, then the drain pipe attaches to it? Sort of a real big threaded on "nut" for lack of proper term that tightens up and pulls the flange that is in the sink down to the recessed area for the basket to sit? If that is what you mean, as already noted the rubber gasket could have dried and shrunk some, but the primary seal is the plumbers putty that is applied around the flange then as you tighten the big nut on the under side of the sink you squeeze the flange down into the putty and seal it. Possibly you just need to try tightening the nut some.

[Doug W Swanson]

I ran into this same problem about a month ago. What happened in my situation was the plumber's putty had dried out over time and was letting water go into the cabinet. Since this is the side of the sink where we air dry the dishes, I didn't notice the problem sooner.
It only took me about 15 minutes to replace the old plumber's putty with new stuff...

[Jim Matthews]

It's been cold.

Drain pipes exposed to the outside temperatures
will move slightly, as they contract.

Just as baseboards 'groan' when the heat comes on,
but in reverse. Good advise on a fresh bead of putty.

[Myk Rian]

If I'm understanding the problem correctly, I think you can just pull the flange off, put a rope of plumber's putty on the flange, then re-tighten it.

^^^^This^^^^

[Dave Zellers]

Of course, there are those who would simply opt to empty the pan now and then ...

Raise your hand if you "know" anyone like that ...

[ken masoumi]

Of course, there are those who would simply opt to empty the pan now and then ...

Raise your hand if you "know" anyone like that ...

The ex owner of the house I now own is one.but instead of a big pot he used a tall drinking glass which would have been alright if he was there to empty it every night but he did not live in this house,one tall glass unattended for months,you can imagine the damage to the cabinet the floor and the ceiling right underneath it.the whole job would have taken 10 minutes to do it right.

[Tom M King]

^^^^This^^^^

Yes, that's it.

[Tom M King]

Of course, there are those who would simply opt to empty the pan now and then ...

Raise your hand if you "know" anyone like that ...

Every plumber I know has a bucket under a sink.

[Dave Zellers]

Every plumber I know has a bucket under a sink.

Kind of like cabinet makers with unfinished kitchens?

>>GUILTY<<