The pop-up drain stopper in your sink transforms it into a small tub, but with time all the grime you pour down it builds up. It may be time to clean your pop-up mechanism if it has started to lose some of its pop.
So, to keep your pop-up drain stopper popping, clean it. The drain stopper device for most bathroom sinks is a pop-up mechanism that operates with the aid of a tiny vertical rod joined to a pivot rod underneath the sink.
This lift rod can move up and down through a tiny hole in the back of the faucet. The pivot rod moves a linkage inside the drain tailpiece, elevating or lowering the stopper as necessary. Your sink’s lift rod has a stopper that closes when you pull up on it and opens when you push it down.
Table of Contents
Steps To Install A Pop Up Drain On Your Sink
Clean Your Drain Pipe
Turn off the water to your sink, check that the back of the sink is accessible, and place a bucket underneath the pop-up drain before you begin fixing or cleaning it.
Take Off Spring Clip
The spring clasp holding the clevis strap to the pivot rod needs to be loosened. Completely detach the clevis strap and spring clip. Twist the gasket holding the pivot rod in the drain off while leaving the clevis strap hanging.
Remove Pivot Rod
A tiny white ball will be visible on the pivot rod once the drain gasket has been removed. This seal stops water from dripping onto the bathroom floor from the faucet. The part of the pivot rod that connects to the drain stopper on the other side of the ball may be soiled or missing entirely.
Replace Pivot Rod
Clean off your pivot rod in a different sink if you are merely performing routine maintenance on it. Make sure to match the appropriate pivot rod length and seal ball size in the universal repair kit when replacing your pivot rod with a functional one.
Set aside after attaching the appropriate seal ball to the appropriate length of the rod.
Clean And Replace Change Stopper
If you’re merely doing maintenance, clean the drain stopper in a different sink. Now is the time to clear out your drain as well. Remove the top cap and screw on the new drain bottom if you’re replacing the stopper.
Ensure that the hole of the freshly cleaned or replaced drain stopper faces outward toward you. In this manner, the drain stopper can be moved up and down by the pivot rod passing through the hole in the bottom of the stopper.
Put the pivot rod in the drain once it has been replaced or cleaned. Make sure the stopper slides up and down when you manually move the pivot rod up and down with it in place. If not, you must adjust the drain stopper to ensure the pivot rod is inserted.
Install New Spring Clip
Make that the pivot rod and clevis strap are fastened to the same hole previously, or improve leverage by moving the pivot rod to a different hole. To ensure the clevis strap won’t come loose from the pivot rod, tightly squeeze the spring clip around it.
Reassemble The Drain Pipe
The P-trap must be reconnected to the drain pipe and tailpiece to complete the task. Closing the stopper and opening it to allow the water to drain out will help you check for leaks while looking for them from below.
If a connection leaks, channel-type pliers can be used to tighten it slightly; however, you must be careful not to overtighten it. The clip should now be approximately an inch from the rod’s end. Restart the water faucet and observe the water swirling down the drain as you do so.
How To Clean Pop-Up Drain Stopper?
Use a wire hanger that has been bent to remove any hair and crud from the pipes after washing your pop-up stopper in a different sink. Until you feel anything on end, lower the wire with a hook-like shape into the drain and rotate it.
Once you’ve pulled up, dispose of anything you have using gloved hands. Through the pivot rod hole, you may also remove obstructions like hair. For the drain area and pipe interior cleaning, use an old toothbrush.
The P-trap under the sink may need to be taken out and manually cleaned if using a hanger doesn’t clear the obstruction. The same clevis strap hole where you previously inserted the pivot rod. Alter the holes one at a time until you achieve the ideal height, if necessary.
Conclusion
Professionals frequently complete the installation of a complete bathroom sink and faucet system while the vanity top is still detached from the base cabinet. Since you have open access at this time, attaching the faucet and various drain components is much simpler.
Although you’ll frequently be working from below the sink, within the vanity cabinet, to install the stopper assembly on an already-installed sink and countertop, adjust the lift rod and loosen the clevis screw if the stopper still won’t sit properly after doing so. But you should still take the pop-up stopper out and clean it regularly.
