What Is a Good Sealant for Sink Drains?

You must seal the area between a sinks drain body and the actual sink surface, otherwise water will leak out between the two and begin dripping under the sink. Some plumbers and installers favor plumbers putty for installing drains, while others lean toward the more modern waterproof material called silicone caulk.

Plumbers putty comes in containers ranging from small to large tubs, which you may choose from depending on how much plumbing installation work you are doing. Plumbers putty literally is a putty, similar to the clay you may have played with as a child. You can form the putty into a variety of shapes, just like clay. And like clay, the putty dries and hardens after it is out of its container long enough. A seal made with plumbers putty may fail down the road if the putty becomes brittle and it cracks apart, allowing water to pass through the seal.

When you are installing a sink drain and decide to use plumbers putty, you must wrap the putty around the sinks drain opening before you install the drain body. To do this, you must roll the putty between the palms of your hands until the putty becomes a long rope. You wrap the rope around the drain opening, tearing off any of the rope that overlaps the rest. The drain body goes on top of the putty, and as you tighten the nut on the bottom of the drain body, some of the putty squishes out from between the drain body and the sink itself, which you must wipe away before it hardens.

Silicone caulk comes in a tube, with some allowing you to squeeze the caulk out by hand while others require the use of a caulk gun. Silicone caulk is a clear substance and it is fairly fluid when it first comes out of the tube. After about an hour of exposure to the air, the caulk begins to form a skin. Once the silicone caulk fully cures, it becomes hard but not to the point of becoming brittle.

With silicone caulk, you must apply an even amount either to the underside of the sinks drain assembly or to the sink immediately around the drain hole opening. Like the plumbers putty, some silicone caulk may squeeze out from between the drain body and the sink, which you must wipe off before it hardens. To remove hardened silicone caulk, you must purchase a caulk softener solution at a hardware or home improvement store.

How to Vent a Sink Drain eHow
www.ehow.com Home Repair & Maintenance Plumbing
How to Vent a Sink Drain. When water drains slowly from a sink even if you know the pipes are clear, the problem may be the result of a poor or absent vent. For a ...
DIY Home Basics: Installing a new sink faucet & drain - DIYdiva
diydiva.net/2010/06/diy-home-basics-installing-a-new-sink-faucet-drain
Ah, the miracles of running water. You dont fully appreciate it until you have to wash your dishes in a bucket with the garden hose for a few weeks.
How would I fix a leak in the sink. The water is escaping through ...
uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070709001712AAGk583Last updated: Jul 12, 2007 17 posts First post: Jul 09, 2007
Jul 09, 2007 Best Answer: Unscrew the black plastic collar right below the sink on the drain pipe to disconnect the silver part from the drain pipe. Next firmly push ...
What is the best way to unclog a sink? - Yahoo! Answers
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070412101043AA2aK3uLast updated: Apr 12, 2007 12 posts First post: Apr 12, 2007
Apr 12, 2007 Best Answer: Normally a plunger will do. But what is important is ... on bathroom sinks there is an overflow hole and you have to plug this hole with a rag ...
Is there an easy way to remove a bathroom sink drain stopper to ...
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100622101738AAKsyCYLast updated: Jun 22, 2010 4 posts First post: Jun 22, 2010
Jun 22, 2010 My bathroom sink pipes are all partially clogged with hair and gunk near the top of them. I cleaned out the one without a permanent sink drain stopper (or ...
How to Remove a Sink Drain Pop Up - EzineArticles.com
ezinearticles.com Home Improvement Plumbing
Aug 11, 2009 Adjusting a sink pop-up is something that every homeowner should be able to do by following some simple instructions. If the pop-up plug does not make a ...
How to Install a Bathroom Sink Pop Up Drain - YouTube
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HfqcaD-bqI
Visit http://www.askthehardwareguy.com for more tips. I show some tips on how to replace the pop up drain on a bathroom sink. This is a good do it yourself ...
How to Unclog a Sink Drain eHow
www.ehow.com Home Repair & Maintenance Plumbing
How to Unclog a Sink Drain. There is nothing worse than a clogged sink drain, especially if you are in the middle of washing dishes or your hair. Drains become ...