How to Remove a Sink Stopper

How to Clean a Clogged Bathroom Sink

2/27/2019

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A little deferred maintenance was causing the sink in Steph's bathroom not to drain. The resulting standing water was becoming a nuisance! Time for a good cleaning!

How to clean a clogged drain in a bathroom sink.

Even though the sink looks good and clean, there is trouble, lots of trouble in the way of soap scum and very long hair clogging the drain!

Product:

Snake Hair Drain Clog Remover Cleaning Tool (Amazon)
Whink Hair Clog Blaster (Amazon)

How to remove the sink horizontal rod from the strap to release the pop up stopper.

The first step is to remove the horizontal rod that holds the stopper in place. There is a spring clip holding the horizontal rod to the vertical strap (The gray thing with the holes.) Pull this clip off and pull the rod away from the vertical strap.

Unscrew the nut to remove the horizontal rod from the stopper base.

Unscrew the grey nut on the backside of the drain and pull this out (you might need a wrench if hand strength isn't enough). Go ahead and clean this with a little soapy water and a brush. Put a bucket under the drain just in case there is any dripping water.

Remove the sink stopper prior to cleaning the drain.

Now the stopper is free and can be removed from the sink. Wash the stopper as well. I put this in a glass of soapy water with a little vinegar and let it soak; finish with a light brushing (an old toothbrush works well) and rinse well.

Use a plastic snake hair cleaning tool to remove clog.

This is a disposable plastic hair clog removal tool that works well to remove hair clogs. Ug, this hair clog was too gross to show here!

Using Whink Hair Clog Blaster to clean the drain.

We followed up with a drain cleaner to get any remaining residue. Follow the directions.

After cleaning the clog, reassemble the parts.

Time to reassemble the parts. Drop in the stopper with the hole facing forward. That hole is where the horizontal rod connects to the stopper.

Tighten the nut. Don't over tighten as these are plastic parts.

Fit the rod into the vertical strap which is connected to the lift rod. Replace the spring clip on the back of the horizontal rod. (This is the part that makes the stopper go up and down.) Be sure to make note of the hole the rod was originally fitted into and put it into the same place.

This is the lift rod. It also can be replaced if you ever need change the color of your fixtures.

This was an easy fix that most homeowners can do. There is no need to live with a slow draining sink!

Please note: This is not a sponsored post.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

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