Help with a leaky sink drain
August 7, 2011 3:12 PM   Subscribe

Help with a leaky sink drain

OK, after taking apart my bathroom sink drain due to it being clogged, I have everything back together again and working great...except for one connection, which is different than all of the rest. Most of the pipes are PVC, but the one coming from the wall which angles down, and the one that attaches to that and makes a U going back up are both metal. They seem to flare at the ends towards each other, and there is no washer or gasket or anything inbetween them. It just looks like the pressure pushing the two together when tightening the outer ring is supposed to help seal them. Unfortunately, that isn't happening, and I'm getting a very slow drip from that spot.

I have tightened the fitting as tightly as I feel comfortable going.

Is there something I can put in there to help? I've tried google searching for info, but all of the results I get are for plastic pipes, pipes that screw together, or pipes of different sizes with nylon washers. I can't find any info on pipes that butt up against each other with a slight taper so that they fit into each other.
posted by markblasco to Home & Garden (5 answers total)
 
Best answer: look for 'plumber's putty': it comes in little tubs and rolls out like playdough or silly putty. roll out a little worm and make a gasket for the joint where the two pipes connect (and leak). the excess will squeeze out.

it will be at any hardware store...
posted by ennui.bz at 3:16 PM on August 7, 2011


2nding plumber's putty, there is also Teflon tape which might work better with PVC. Wrap it around twice and squonk it down tight.
posted by timsteil at 3:37 PM on August 7, 2011


Alternatively, if the gap isn't too great, plumber's tape a.k.a thread-seal tape.
posted by likeso at 3:38 PM on August 7, 2011


Jinx! I owe timsteil a Coke.
posted by likeso at 3:39 PM on August 7, 2011


I had the same problem, I tried the thread seal tape and it didn't work then I used pipe dope and haven't had a problem since. I've never heard of plumber's putty being used for seals between pipes just for the seals between porcelain and metal. The brand I used was called Real-Tuff
posted by any major dude at 4:21 PM on August 7, 2011


« Older Months vs. years   |   tried to plug in computer to service port on back... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.