How to Supplant a Kitchen Sink Handbasket Strainer

Supervene upon a sink strainer—information technology's easy!

Fourth dimension

A total mean solar day

Complexity

Beginner

Cost

$51–100

Introduction

Quick and piece of cake fix for a leaky kitchen sink basket strainer. Supercede the basket strainer yourself in merely an hour and save the price of a visit from the plumber.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Plumber'south putty

Project step-past-step (6)

Step 1

Supersede a leaky kitchen sink drain strainer

Examination for the kitchen sink bleed leak

Test

Make full up the sink with water and touch a facial tissue between the bottom of the kitchen sink drain and the sink. If the tissue picks up any water, you lot've got a leaky handbasket strainer and it's time to learn how to remove a sink drain.

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Pace two

Loosen the coupling nut

Loosen

Loosen the coupling nut at the base of the kitchen sink strainer basket with a slip-joint pliers and slide the nut completely off the threads. If the basket spins, hold it tight every bit in Photo 3

Unclog a Kitchen Sink

Step 3

Unscrew the locknut

Unscrew

Use 16-in. slip-joint pliers or spud wrench to unscrew the kitchen sink strainer locknut. If the entire basket spins, insert the handles of a pliers into the strainer grate from above and stick a screwdriver betwixt the handles to concord information technology still. Reach over the front of the sink, or take an assistant hold the screwdriver from above. If yous can motility the drainpipe out of the way, you can insert the pliers handles up into the strainer grate from the bottom to become a ameliorate handle on it yourself.

Kitchen ideas: A improve sink bleed

Footstep iv

Utilise putty and reset the handbasket

putty

Roll plumber's putty between your easily into a rope the size of a pencil and wrap it around the lip of the kitchen sink drain opening. Press the kitchen sink strainer firmly down into the putty, add the rubber gasket, friction ring and locknut under the sink, and retighten the locknut.

If you notice a puddle of water in the cabinet under your sink, it may be acquired by a leaky basket strainer. One-time plumbing fittings tin be tricky to loosen, simply we'll show you how to tear them apart and put them dorsum together without any strain. You can pick up all the necessary supplies at a hardware store or home heart.

To be certain the leak is coming from the basket strainer instead of a piping joint, test the basket for leaks equally shown in Photograph ane. In one case you ostend that the basket strainer is leaking, begin the removal process (Photo 2). Photo 3 shows how to remove the strainer locknut, which holds the basket tight to the sink. If the locknut is rusted in place, spray information technology with penetrating oil. If you don't take big enough pliers to go a good grip, loosen the locknut by tapping the locknut with a hammer and an onetime chisel. (If the locknut won't motion, come across the next stride, below.) Completely remove the locknut, friction band and gasket, and lift the old basket out of the sink.

Scrape off the erstwhile putty with a plastic putty knife so y'all don't scratch the sink. Seal the new handbasket in the sink with plumber's putty as shown in Photo 4. Plumber's putty cannot be used on certain new sinks, but these will exist labeled to that upshot. If you can't use plumber'southward putty, use a non-water-based silicone. Excess putty will squeeze out between the new basket strainer and the sink when you tighten the locknut in place. Wipe it off with a rag or paper towel. Make sure to insert the paper-thin friction ring between the prophylactic gasket and the locknut and then the locknut spins freely, without catching on the gasket.

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Step 5

Desperate measures for stuck nuts

Cut the locknut

Cut

If all else fails, chuck a metallic cutoff bike into a rotary tool and cut the locknut. Cut until y'all reach the paper-thin ring to a higher place the nut. Don't cut into the sink. If the nut still doesn't spin, fit your chisel into the cut area and smack information technology with a hammer to scissure it open. Vesture eye protection.

How to Unclog a Sink

Step six

Ownership Tips

strainer

You have to spend at least $50 to go a loftier-quality kitchen sink basket strainer assembly with a durable finish and a reliable stopper mechanism. The best strainers have either a spin-lock or a twist-and-drib style stopper. The spin-lock stopper doesn't take any parts that can wear, but screwing it in and out can exist annoying. The twist-and-drop way is much easier to utilise just requires occasional O-ring replacement.

Avert push-in style strainers that have a nonreplaceable neoprene stopper or a plastic knob. The plastic parts break and tin can lose their sealing power if exposed to boiling h2o.

Originally Published: July 16, 2022