Suppose you have suddenly noticed your bathroom sink is overflowing and unable to pass the water through the drain. As a result, it is unusable even for washing your hands or brushing your teeth. How annoying the situation is! To quickly avoid a situation like a bathroom sink drain stopper stuck in closed position, we have decorated our presentation for you. However, fixing a bathroom sink drain stopper stuck problem is not so complex with our guide.
To resolve a bathroom sink drain stopper stuck, you need to follow some steps:
- Know different parts’ identities and the working process for seamlessly understanding and doing the procedures.
- Start identifying the problem accurately.
- Disassemble the drain stopper parts, and mark where the problem is.
- Recover the damaged part or replace it with a new one.
- Reassemble each part.
We will cover all aspects of quick fixation of a bathroom sink drain stopper with real experiences and experts’ suggestions. Keep faith in us.
A basic introduction to the significant parts of a sink stopper
Before fixing the bathroom Sink Stopper stuck, introduce yourself to the components of a sink stopper assembly.
Lift rod: The lift rod is located behind the faucet. Pull up the lift rod, closing the water from entering the sink drain, and pushing it down results in reverse.
Pivot Rod: The Pivot rod is connected with the extension bar from the sink drainpipe. When the lift rod pulls up or pushes down, the pivot rod goes up and down to make the stopper open and close.
Extension Bar: It is also known as the Chevis strap. This metal extension bar connects the push rod with the pivot rod.
Spring Clip: You will find a V-shaped lath that links the Pivot rod to the Extension bar.
Pivot Nut: A nut used to secure the Pivot Rod to the sink drain pipe.
Gasket: A round piece of rubber compressed between the Sink and stopper to prevent water leakage.
Stopper Drain: It combines Sink stoppers with a pre-build Pivot Rod with dedicated pipelines.
How does a bathroom sink stopper works?
Simple know-how of a bathroom sink’s drain stopper’s working process will help you better investigate and solve the problem. Most bathroom sink stopper has only three parts. These parts work as a unit to move the sink stoppers up and down.
The lift rod or push rod, placed on the sink’s upper side, works as a trigger. Pushing or pressing the push rod lifts the drain stopper, which leads the water to discharge. An inverse operation will close the drain and deter water from emitting.
The next part’s name is Lever, which connects the lift rod under the sink. If you push the lift rod, one end connects to the lever’s side, and the liver’s opposite side takes position inside the drain pipe.
The last part is named the Popup Drain Plug, a rubber gasket concealed under a lip on the plug. Under the Popup drain plug, people call all these things tailpieces.
Reasons behind the bathroom sink stoppers being stuck?
Although a bathroom sink stopper has a limited number of parts, there may be many reasons behind components corrosion, less durability, loose connection, breakdown, stopper aging, debris into the stopper, etc. behind the sink stopper stuck issue. Now we will interpret the most common six reasons in detail.
1. Metal decay
A bathroom sink drain stopper has moving metal parts, like a pushrod, lift rod, extension bar, etc. When these parts get to water’s touch, they cause corrosion because of chemical reactions. Therefore, some manufacturers prefer plastics to avoid corrosion.
2. Less durability of plastic-made components
In the case of plastic-made stopper parts, they are not as durable as metal-made components. Excessive pressure can break Plastic. In addition, plastic-made parts may become loose when the weather is so hot.
3. Loose connection
The two significant kinks under the sink plug assembly must work correctly to move the drain plug up and down. If these links get loose or break, the plug must be stuck in the up or down position. The sink stopper may get stuck due to loosely connected screws also.
4. Broken parts
Another reason – a bathroom sink stopper won’t come out because of the disarrangement between the lift rod and lever. The Lift Rod or Lever may face tarnish and decay. Sometimes thumbscrews permit the connection to slide, or it may become loose.
5. Debris formation in the sink stopper
Sometimes sink stopper accumulates oil, eggshell, food particle, grease, and other gunk items which stuck to the sink stopper.
6. Aging of your sink drain stopper
Every product and part has a specific lifetime. After passing this lifetime, the functional ability of those products and parts decreases gradually. In the same way, if your sink stopper gets aged, it becomes stuck frequently.
Tools needed before solving the problem
Before starting the job to fix the sink stopper stuck problem, you need some handy tools. Here we mentioned some much-needed and common instruments below. However, because of the sink and sink stopper variation, you might need 2/3 more or less equipment.
- Hand Gloves
- Knife
- Container or Basket
- A Horizontal Rod
- Flashlight
- Pliers
- Clip
- Screwdriver
- Pipe joining tape etc.
Solution for the bathroom sink stopper stuck
The first thing to repair a bathroom sink drain stuck closed is to detect whether your sink stopper is a traditional or standard pop-up type. For a conventional sink drain stopper, it is easy to identify. It has a lift rod located beside the faucet. For a modern or universal stopper, a single push-down action opens and closes the stopper for a current or universal stopper.
Here we’ve mentioned four (4) clear-cut steps to fix the bathroom sink drain stuck in the closed position:
Step 1:
Disassemble the stopper parts from the sink:
Put aside all unwanted things under the sink and manage a light source there. You may use a flashlight in this case. Then, separate the stopper parts. After that, lose the ribbed nuts and spring clip using your fingers or channel lock piler and separate the pivot rod from Chevis. Now detach the Lever and blow out the stopper with care from the upside of the sink drain. Finally, lose the nut with a screwdriver and disconnect the P-Trap from the sink drain pipeline.
Step 2:
Fix the problem of the sink stopper drain being stuck”
If you do not regularly clean the stopper, it stops working by breaking parts, forming debris, decaying metal, or losing connection. After disassembling the stopper parts, use an old soft brush, vinegar, or cleaning solution to clean impassable objects and look for problems. We provided solutions below for various issues:
Bathroom Sink Stopper Problem and Solution Table
| Problems | Problem Nature | Solution |
| Sink stopper parts damage due to corrosion | Metal Corrosion | Change the damaged part. |
| Plastic-made parts have torn apart | Less durability of components | Add a new one |
| A connection between two parts has loosened | Loose connection | Tighten the screws |
| Extension bar or lift rod other parts have broken | Broken parts | Replace the broken item |
| Identified debris in the stopper | Debris formation | Clean stopper carefully |
| The entire set has been damaged due to being old | Aging | Change the whole set |
Step 3:
Reassemble the stopper parts:
You may see the reinstallation part as complex. To avoid this complexity, take some pictures of the total stopper parts. If you forget to take pictures, search the internet, especially YouTube. Place your sink drain stopper into the drain’s opening, so the notch faces the lift handle and tapered plastic washer into the horizontal stub over the tailpipe.
Set the Pivot Rod slightly downward into the stub and Pivot Nut over the Pivot Rod tightly. Don’t over-tighten the nut; otherwise, it will stop the rod from moving. Next, link the lift handle and extension bar to the Chevis’s joint using a screw under the sink. Place Pivot Rod towards all extension bar holes. Connect the V-shaped spring clamp and Pivot Rod with the corresponding extension bar hole.
Step 4:
Check the water leakage and test the sink stopper:
Yes, you have done all. For additional caution, check the stoppers functionality. If it fails to work correctly, adjust the link between the pivot rod and extension bar by changing the hole in the extension bar.
To solve any water leakage, just tighten the connection of the P-trap, drain, pivot nut, and stopper drain pipe. Then, you can change the washers if the water leakage issue remains unresolved.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
How do you fix a sink stopper that is stuck in a closed position?
Answer: To resolve a sink stopper stuck in a closed position, identify the problem (in which part the problem is occurring), disassemble the sink stopper, and repair or replace the faulty part.
Why won’t my bathroom sink drain open?
Answer: Your bathroom sink drain won’t open if it gets stuck. For many reasons, this can happen. Firstly, any unresolved particles, hair, or other material have entered the sink. Secondly, nuts, bolts, and screws are loose; finally, if a part gets total damage or breaks.
Conclusion
We hope you have understood all the points and solutions properly. We provided simple processes for a quicker understanding and application. Understand and follow our guide properly to escape situations like a bathroom sink drain stopper stuck in closed position and subsequent annoyance.
Further, we advise you not to be so courageous without prior experience. In this case, you may cause more harm to the stopper, drain, or sink. You may also mistake this step unless you carefully handle the reinstallation process.
Paul Newman is a blogger who writes about plumbing and home improvement. Over the past 20 years, I have worked as a plumber. My passion is to share my knowledge and experience with others to improve their homes.
