Introduction
The curved pipes underneath your sink, or p-traps as they’re commonly referred, handle all the dirty work associated with your kitchen drainage. As their name suggests, this is where all the dirt coming out of your kitchen sink gets trapped. Over time, these pipes become corroded, leak, or get plugged with accumulated grease and soap. In comes a handy guide on how to replace pipes under kitchen sink? Your all time solution for this.
You’ve probably seen a skit on TV where someone is trying to replace their drainage pipes but things take a wrong turn and they end up covered in water and yuck. This is how the process rings in many people’s mind — but in reality, replacing your sink traps is the easiest job you’ll ever do.
All you need to get this job are a few basic plumbing tools and an afternoon out. Once you have the two requirements checked, you can follow this simple guide to get the job done:
How to replace pipes under kitchen sink and what we need
Here’s a list of all the things you’ll need for this project:
- A kit containing sink connectors and the drain traps
- A PVC pipe for connecting to the bottom of the drainage pipe
- A pipe cleaner
- An Adjustable wrench
- A bucket
- A medium size pipe wrench
- A plumbers tape
- A connector sleeve for attaching the drain pipe to current pipes
- A pipe glue
A simple trick would to carry the list with you to a local hardware and ask them to get them for you. It’s also important that you carry a sample of the drain pipes you’re replacing so they can advise you on the pipes to choose.
Step 1: Remove Existing Pipes
Before removing the pipes, first place a bucket under the sink drain. Be sure to inform everyone in your home that you’re about to replace the pipes under the kitchen sink so they cannot open the water and flood the entire area.
Once done, go ahead and remove the existing drain pipes one by one. The easiest way to do this is by cutting the pipes below the drain trap.
Next, go ahead and unscrew the drains at the bottom of the sink and remove all the pipes.
Step 2: Prepare the New Drains before you proceed with the rest of the steps on how to replace pipes under kitchen sink
Wrap a teflon tape or plumbers around the threads of the new sink drain pipe that you want to install. After you’re done, go ahead and fit the tailpipe into your sinks drain and use a slip nut to attach it.
Now thread the tail pipe into the drain until it’s secure. But remember not to tighten it up completely. For the double drain sinks, you’ll have to fit two tailpipes, joined at the hip with a T-section.
Step 3: Size the Tailpipe
At this point you have to make sure that you’ve fitted the sink trap or P-rap on the tailpipe. Where there isn’t enough space to adequately fit everything, you’ll have to use a sharpie to draw a line onto the tail pipe before removing the piece.
You’re also allowed to use a hacksaw to cut the pipe so it can fit. You also have to test the tailpipe before you can go ahead and screw it or attach the P-trap. And after you’re done with everything, you’re free to screw down the tailpipe.
Step 4: Attach the P-trap
This is where you attach the P-trap. You can start by placing the washers into all the slip nuts, including those at both ends of the T-trap. And while at it, it’s important to make sure that the threads found on the slip nuts face on the outside.
Now tighten the T-traps starting at the tailpipe as you work your way towards its main drainage. Make sure you’re not over-tightening the threads to avoid stripping the PVC pipe. You also want to make sure that the pipe is easy to remove should it ever clog and in dire need of cleaning.
And lastly, over-tightening the threads can easily cause the plastic threads to crack, leading to a possible leak.
Step 5: Turn on the Water to Test
You’ve already finalized the last step on how to replace pipes under kitchen sink.
At this point you’re free to turn on the water from the central system and let it run to see how everything works. Let the under-sink cabinets fill up with water as you look around for possible leaks.
If there’s a leak, try to trace it down to the source. If it’s coming from a slip nut connection, you can turn off the faucet and proceed to check the washers for abrasions and correct placement.
The Roundup
There goes a simplified guide on how to replace pipes under kitchen sink. As you can see, everything is simple and straight to the point. Of course you have the option of hiring a plumber, but why do it when you can get your hands a little bit dirty and get the job done yourself.
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