Adjust Your Sink Stopper in 5 Simple Steps

A sink stopper allows you to fill the bathroom basin when you need to wash your face of shave, but like most other household systems, the stopper can become faulty. Luckily, it is pretty easy to readjust the sink stopper to help it hold the water when a maladjustment causes it to drain water instead of holding it.

Sink stoppers go bad for one of two reasons; one being a clog, and two, poor alignment. Both issues can be remedied with one simple repair, and at the same time, you can get rid of the foul odor that occurs whenever the water drains out of the sink.

Adjusting the sink stopper is a simple DIY fix, provided you have the right tools and some basic know-how.

Tools You'll Need:

  • Adjustable pliers
  • Safety glasses
  • A bottle brush


1. Find the Nut

The first step would be to don your safety goggles and crawl in under the sink and look for the nut sticking out from the back of the drain plumbing. There is a rod which comes out of the nut, and this is connected to a bar leading up towards the handle of the faucet. You need to loosen the nut using your pliers, and then remove the rod from the pipe. This will enable you to completely remove the stopper from the sink.

2. Check the Connection

It is common for the stopper to become disconnected from the rod. Gently pull the stopper out of the sink. If it comes out completely, your stopper was not installed correctly. Look for the oval hole at the bottom of the stopper. If it is off-centered, it needs to be aimed correctly and reinstalled.

3. Rotate the Nut

You can quickly and easily adjust the sink stopper by taking it apart. You do this by using adjustable pliers to rotate the nut. Once it can be pulled out, you may notice some dirt, hair and debris on the stopper. Remove and the gunk and clean the stopper thoroughly.

4. Clean the Drain Pipe

Stick a piece of duct tape over the hole where you just removed the nut and place an old towel down to capture any water leaking from the hole. Use the bottle brush to remove the biofilm from the inside of the drain pipe and as far down as you can.

5. Rinse & Repeat

Now you need to reassemble all the parts in reverse order. Make sure that the rod passes through the oval hole of the stopper. Finally, tighten the round nut, taking care not to over-tighten. It should be placed in a down-sloping position, with the stopper protruding as high as possible above the bottom of the sink. Now ask someone to hold the rod up while you adjust or tighten the bolt on the flat bar.

As you can see, there's not much to adjusting the bathroom sink stopper. However, it is important to test it to ensure it operates as it should. Run some water and check underneath to ensure that the nut is tightened enough to prevent leaks. If you've done your best, but the function is still just not right, you may need to call a qualified plumber to do it for you.

Written by Tanya Klien

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