How to Fix a Pop-Up Sink

!±8± How to Fix a Pop-Up Sink

The seal of a pop-up drain--a metal plug closing upon a metal flange, or ring--is never quite as watertight as that of an old-style rubber stopper. Moreover, the pop-up mechanism has several moving parts and needs periodic adjustments. But the pop-up's convenience has made it almost universal, and a homeowner must learn to cope with its malfunctions.

The malfunctions are, fortunately, few in number: a plug that fails to close or open properly, and the two enemies of all drainage systems: clogs and leaks.

Pop-up problems are usually caused by faulty connections. The control knob atop the lavatory is part of a three-section linkage: a vertical rod; another vertical rod, flat and pierced by holes, called a clevis; and a seesaw-like horizontal rod that pivots on a plastic ball inside the drain to raise and lower the plug. Adjusting the mechanism calls for two simple settings on the lift rod and clevis.

Loose hair and similar lavatory debris are the usual causes of clogging. To clear the drain you must remove the plug, either by lifting or twisting it out of the lavatory bowl, or by disassembling the pivot rod. When you have freed the plug, clean it thoroughly, then clear out the drain below with a brush or piece of cloth wrapped around a stiff wire, such as a length of coat hanger.

There are two kinds of leaks. Water that drips or trickles from the mechanism beneath the bowl is leaking around the pivot ball. Tighten the retaining ball that holds the ball in place; if that does not work, remove the nut and then replace the pivot-ball washer.

Water that seeps down the outside of the drain is a more serious matter. The thudding of the plug against the flange may have broken a putty seal beneath the flange; by loosening a lock nut under the bowl you can lift the flange slightly and renew the seal.

More often, this type of leak is due to corrosion of one of the parts of the drain--a sure sign that the drain will soon fail completely. To fix the leak properly, you should replace the entire drain assembly.