Better Home and GardenA Home Improvement blog

It is a disgusting experience to have a leaky sink strainer basket at home, as it will be the cause for some trouble and your home can be messy at times. Though not permanent, sink strainer basket are designed to be long lasting. However, the rubber gaskets can inevitably fail over time. Situations like this should not ruin the happy moments you has with your home, for fixing your faulty or leaky sink strainer basket is a no brainer and can be done even in less than an hour.

All you need is to have a sink strainer, a plumber’s putty, plastic putty knife, pipe wrench or channel lock pliers, needle nose pliers, and a rag.

The first thing that you will do is to know the real cause of leak. In order to know if your sink strainer causes the leak, stop the sink up and check occasionally if there is some water dripping, then check around the rubber gasket and near the lock nut. Once you see some water dripping in these areas, then you definitely have the conclusion of having a leaky sink strainer basket.

Before doing the next step like removing anything that needs to be removed, check first and make sure that the lock nut is tight. Tightening up the lock nut can sometimes be the simple remedy of stopping the leak. However, if after doing so the problem still occurs, checking the rubber gasket before you remove the strainer can be the next remedy.  Make sure to have a functional gasket, as it will create a watertight seal. If these steps do not solve the problem, then you need to remove the entire sink strainer.

Next step is for you to remove the strainer basket and check if it is properly sealed with a plumber’s putty, for too little putty will case the water to leak. After you have taken the drainer out, clean it up by removing the old putty and leave the surface clean and dry.

Now that your sink is ready, it is now time for you to add new putty. Get a golf ball size amount of putty, mold it to create a long-shape and wrap it around in the sink opening and press the strainer into the putty with even pressure and remove any excess putty.

Now that your strainer is already set, it is now time for you to attach the gasket and the lock nut and have the drainpipe attach to the threaded end of the strainer. Make sure everything is secure and you will never have to experience any leaky sink strainer basket ever again.

There can never be as fun as living a clean and free from faults home. That is why it is important that you have basic knowledge in fixing some of your household problems from basic plumbing to electrical wiring to simple carpentry and all. In this way, we can prevent the problems from causing big trouble in the future.