Sealing a lav drain to the lav, what to use?


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Old 09-20-16, 01:11 PM
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Sealing a lav drain to the lav, what to use?

OK, I went to get plumbers putty to seal the drain to the sink and the home center person said to use silicon, nobody uses plumbers putty any more? I'm asking here, because in general I avoid straight silicone, preferring pro level caulks that may have silicon in them, but are more workable, easier to clean up and so on.

So what are you guys using?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Old 09-20-16, 01:20 PM
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Plumbers putty can stain many modern sink materials.
 
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Old 09-20-16, 02:00 PM
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Well I see there is non staining plumbers putty, that says not for ABS plastics....

So I guess a small tube of 100% clear silicone it is.....
 
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Old 09-20-16, 02:07 PM
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Plumbers putty will degrade plastic and that's why it's not recommend on bath sinks.
Use denatured alcohol or mineral spirits to wipe off the excess silicone.
 
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Old 09-20-16, 02:15 PM
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just regular kitchen and bath OK, or need exterior window caulk?
 
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Old 09-20-16, 02:21 PM
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Plumber's putty on stainless steel or porcelain. Plastic, use silicone. Marble, use silicone as putty will stain the veins of the marble. No window caulk..........silicone, 100%. No kitchen and bath caulk....silicone.
 
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Old 09-20-16, 02:25 PM
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I use plumbers putty. I dont buy stuff where silcone needs to be used...

Always leak issues IMO..

But I dont know what type material sink you have...
 
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Old 09-20-16, 02:51 PM
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Cheap porcelain sink from Low... The drain is cheap plastic that came with a Moen lav fixture.

Sink was chosen more because it fit the space than the price. The Moen fixture is not expensive, but it was far from the cheapest POS on the shelf.

Is it worth it to to get a different drain than what came with the moen fixture?
 
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Old 09-20-16, 02:58 PM
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I see a brushed nickel, brass body universal 1 1/4 popup for about $30

https://www.amazon.com/Keeney-K820-7.../dp/B000IKNS8I

Is that a better long term solution? I'm fine with the way the plastic looks, but I'm not looking for the absolute cheapest solution either.
 
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Old 09-20-16, 03:04 PM
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OK, web is only showing 100% silicone caulks but I'm sure there is sealant there too. Just have to go find it if that's what we use. Thanks.
 
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Old 09-20-16, 03:27 PM
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Old 09-23-16, 10:12 AM
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So I'm an idiot, or at least really ignorant. I was looking at this all wrong. The seal at the top was not great, but that's not the issue. The issue is it's leaking at the bottom around the threads of the unit. rubber washer is supposed to seal tightly against the body of the drain, it's not. Moen is saying there's no need to put teflon tape on that lock nut but that seems worth trying. They gave me a couple ideas, but mostly they are saying, use a drain meant for sinks with no overflow, so the water never makes it to those threads to begin with.

I did buy that brass drain as well and have that here. But the range on the stopper is not great and doesn't open enough to fully drain the water while the sink is on full. Going back upstairs to figure this out. Gotta be missing something obvious.

Flipped the washer the "wrong" way per Moen's suggestion and put teflon tape on the body for the hell of it. Seems to be fine. There may be a tiny bit of water seeping through after running for 5 minutes straight but that may have just been residual.
 

Last edited by speedy72; 09-23-16 at 12:13 PM.
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Old 09-23-16, 01:12 PM
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This is a common problem and some pop-ups are almost guaranteed to leak.

I would reinstall the large basin washer correctly. Coat the male threads of the pop up body with Teflon paste or white pipe dope. Coat the upper area where the basin washer and nut will be.
Hand tighten nut firmly plus 1/2 turn.

The stopper travel is adjustable.
 
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Old 09-23-16, 02:44 PM
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Thanks, it seems OK but I may rip it open again and do as you say.

The travel just wasn't there. moved the arm the full way and it just didn't pop up as far as it needed to.

Do the pros ever shorten those arms just to get rid of the excess? I attached it where it fell naturally, which is about 3" out from the drain, leaving another 3" or so sticking out the back that will never be used. Just seems it would be easier to service if it were shorter.
 
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Old 09-23-16, 04:24 PM
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Shortening the arm won't help. Loosen the upper rod and operate the stopper arm by hand, check the travel. If it's fine, the rod height needs adjusted.

You can also set the stopper on top of the arm, rather than having the stopper captured.
Many stoppers are installed so that they cannot be pulled out.
 
 

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