How To Remove Blanco Sink Strainer

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If you hear a "drip, drip" from underneath the kitchen sink when it'due south total of dingy dishes and water, there'southward a expert run a risk you take a leaky sink drain (oftentimes called a sink strainer). The sink strainer is the metal, funnel-shaped contraption that pressure seals to the sink from in a higher place and below, and it will somewhen either leap a leak or become so scratched and discolored that yous'll want to supercede information technology. Luckily, with the right tools and some elbow grease, y'all can remove all but the most stubborn rusted-on sink drains yourself — and even install a new ane without calling a plumber!

1
Loosen the coupling nut that connects the strainer to the drain piping. Sink strainers are always made of metal, but most modern homes have white PVC drain pipes. You'll observe either a PVC or metallic coupling nut connecting these two components beneath your sink. Loosen this nut to divide them.^[one]
- You should exist able to loosen a PVC nut by mitt, turning it counterclockwise. Wrap a towel effectually the nut to help you get a better grip on it. A metallic nut may likewise crave the use of a pipe wrench or large adjustable wrench.
- If you wish, you lot may likewise be able to disconnect the bleed pipage at the meridian of the trap (the U-shaped bend) in society to give yourself more room to piece of work with.
two
Stabilize a spinning strainer in guild to remove a stubborn nut. If the strainer is spinning counterclockwise forth with the nut as you loosen it, you'll need to hold information technology still from to a higher place. Insert a pair of needle-nose pliers or a sink drain wrench down into the sink and pinch the strainer grate (non the removable strainer handbasket) to immobilize the unabridged strainer.
- You may be able to hold the pliers with one manus and loosen the nut with the other, or you may need to recruit a helper. This would be a good helper chore for an older child or teen.
- If you accept trouble squeezing the pliers, yous can as well insert the handles of the pliers into the openings of the strainer grate, and then stick a screwdriver betwixt the handles and hold it steady to immobilize the sink strainer.^[ii]
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3
Determine the type of sink strainer you have. Locknut sink strainers take a big locking nut that feeds onto threads on the outside of the strainer itself. This in turn presses a washer and gasket against the underside of the sink. Most modernistic sinks have locknut sink strainers.
- There are also locknut strainers with screw attachments, in which three or 4 screws are used to help concord the locknut tight against the underside of the sink.
- Bell washer sink strainers have an outer bong-shaped "shell" that fits over the entire strainer. This bell housing is pressed against the underside of the sink by a nut located at the bottom of the strainer (just in a higher place the nut that connects to the drain pipage below).^[3]
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1
Remove the screws in the locknut if your strainer has them. If you see threads around the widest section of the strainer (where it connects to the sink), y'all have some version of locknut strainer. If you lot besides see three or 4 screwheads against the locknut, you lot demand to remove these screws earlier loosening and removing the locknut and strainer. A simple screwdriver (typically Phillips head) volition do.^[4]
- One time you lot remove the screws, you lot should be able to loosen this type of locknut by mitt. Turn information technology counterclockwise until it comes off the threads and slides down off the strainer.
- If the entire strainer is spinning when you try to loosen the locknut, use pliers to pinch (or pliers handles and a screwdriver to hold) the strainer withal from topside. Utilise this method with any blazon of spinning sink strainer, locknut or otherwise.^[5]
- If the screws are hard to plough, then spray some WD40 onto them and wait 5 minutes. This should aid to loosen them.
2
Utilise a broad-mouthed wrench to loosen a traditional locknut strainer. If you locknut isn't held tight past screws, you'll need a wrench to loosen it then that yous can remove the strainer. Apply a large pipe wrench or — even better — a specialized strainer locknut wrench, which you can purchase at any hardware store. Turn the locknut counterclockwise with the wrench until it spins freely, and then plough it past hand until information technology unthreads and falls off the sink strainer.^[6]
- If the locknut is completely rusted in identify and merely volition non come off, y'all can utilize the cutting wheel attachment on a rotary multi-tool to slice through the locknut, and so (if needed) a chisel and mallet to split it apart. But you may as well want to consider calling a plumber at this signal.^[7]
3
Loosen and remove the nut at the bottom of a bell washer strainer. Take the aforementioned wrench y'all used to loosen the nut that held the strainer to the drain piping, and loosen the same-sized nut that pushes up against the bell-shaped housing. Work the nut off the threads and out of the way, so pull the bong housing downwardly and off of the strainer.^[8]
- If the bell housing refuses to pull free hands, wedge a flat head screwdriver into the gasket sandwiched between the bong and the underside of the sink. Pry the bell housing free and popular it off.
four
Jerk the sink strainer loose and button it up and out of the sink. A moderate jiggle and twist should suspension the seal between the upper lip of the strainer and the rim of the topside of the sink. Then, push upward from the bottom of the strainer with i manus and pull information technology up and out of the sink with the other hand.^[9]
- If the strainer won't interruption free, tap it from the underside with a mallet until it pops loose. If you take to bash too hard, though, you lot may damage the sink itself, and then consider calling a plumber if necessary.
- Scrape abroad whatsoever dried putty or other gunk from the rim of the sink (both above and below) if yous intend to install a new strainer. Use a plastic putty knife so you don't scratch the stainless steel terminate.^[10]
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1
Roll out a ring of plumber's putty and place it around the sink opening. Grab a small handful of plumber's putty out of its container. Work it around in your hands for a few minutes to warm it and arrive more than pliable. In one case it's about the consistency of children's clay (like Play-Doh), coil it into a "snake" about the thickness of a pencil, and so printing the ends together to make a band. Identify this band over the rim of the opening on the topside of your sink and so use your thumbs to push information technology down all the way around the rim.^[11]
- Yous tin can buy plumber's putty anywhere that sells plumbing supplies.
- Make sure you take cleaned away any old putty from the sink surface with a plastic putty pocketknife.
ii

Press the new sink strainer firmly down into the putty ring. Whether y'all're installing a bell washer or locknut strainer, this part of the job is the same. printing downwardly firmly, then that plumber'due south putty squeezes out all around the rim. Use your fingers, a plastic putty pocketknife, and a clammy rag to clear abroad the excess putty.^[12]
three
Identify any included washers and gaskets between the underside of the sink and the locknut or bong housing. A metal-to-metallic connectedness between the sink bottom and the locknut or bong housing won't be watertight. The new sink strainer will come up with at to the lowest degree one safe gasket, and mayhap other gaskets or washers made of rubber, paper-thin (to protect the prophylactic), or other materials. Identify them equally directed in the product instructions before tightening the locknut or bell housing.^[xiii]
- If you're reinstalling an old sink strainer, take the old gasket(s) to the hardware store and buy identical (but new) replacements.
iv
Secure the sink strainer into place from below. For a traditional locknut strainer, employ a large pipe wrench or strainer locknut wrench to tighten the locknut (by turning information technology clockwise). Deeply printing the strainer against the underside of the sink, simply don't feel like y'all have to tighten it so much that the parts seem ready to fuse together.
- For a locknut strainer with screws, you but need to mitt-tighten the locknut into place. The provided screws are what will press the locknut tight and concur the connexion together.
- For a bell washer strainer, place the bong housing over the strainer, then feed the provided nut onto the threads at the bottom of the strainer. Use a wrench to tighten this firmly (but again, not excessively).
5

Connect the bleed pipe to the sink strainer. If you lot have a PVC nut for making the connection, you'll only need to paw-tighten it (clockwise). If the nut is metal, utilise a wrench to firmly secure it in place.^[fourteen]
6
Exam for leaks. Plug the sink and fill it with water. Wait a few moments, and so run a tissue around the connection betwixt the underside of the sink and the sink strainer's locknut or bell housing (depending on the blazon you've installed). If the tissue gets damp at all, your putty seal is the probable culprit and you'll have to re-do the installation.
- If this spot passes the "tissue test," let the h2o out of the sink and run a dry tissue around the nut that connects the strainer to the drain pipe. If it stays dry out, you're good to become!^[15]
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Question

Tin I supercede the drain in my sink myself?

David Balkan
Professional Plumber & CEO of Balkan Sewer & Water Main

David Balkan is a Professional Plumber, CEO of Balkan Sewer and H2o Primary Service, and President of Balkan Sewer and Drain Cleaning. Equally a hands-on possessor of these companies for over 40 years, David is knowledgeable virtually water service lines, sewers, and drain line issues. David is a Committee Chairman of the Main Plumbers Council and has sat on the Executive Committee of the Sub Surface Plumbers Association of New York for over 30 years. His noesis and solution-oriented approach contributed to Balkan Sewer and Water Principal Service being the largest and virtually trusted service in New York City and the recipient of the 2022 Angie's List Super Service Honour.

Professional Plumber & CEO of Balkan Sewer & Water Main

Good Respond

Aye, this simply takes some bones tools—maybe two pipe wrenches, or maybe a pair of aqueduct locks. The just time information technology might be hard is if it's a actually old drain that's been frozen in identify for a number of years. Otherwise, it should simply unscrew, then you can replace the drain and screw it correct back together. Merely exist careful non to suspension the fittings.

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Article Summary Ten

To remove a kitchen sink bleed, all you'll demand is a wrench, a screwdriver, and a pair of needle-nosed pliers. The showtime thing to do is loosen the coupling nut connecting the strainer to the bleed pipe, which you can ordinarily do by mitt. If the nut is very tight, hold the strainer in place from higher up with the pliers while you loosen information technology. If you come across screws holding your strainer in place, remove them with the screwdriver before loosening the locknut by hand. For a locknut with no screws, you'll need to apply a wrench to loosen it past turning information technology counterclockwise. Then, you should be able to wiggle the strainer loose and push it out of the sink. Terminate by cleaning any gunk or putty from effectually the hole where the drain was fitted. For tips on how to install a new kitchen sink bleed, read on!

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