Unable to seal basin waste

[Ijp68]

Hi - I engaged a local plumber to fit a new tap and slotted waste to an existing sink. It’s 15 year old and I assume it didn’t leak when first installed but can’t be 100% sure of this as has leaked last few years. He used ptfe tape and plumbers mate. Fitted my new waste twice and then fitted a different new waste that he had spare in van but couldn’t get a seal. Tells me it must be the sink (no cracks) and I will need a new sink. Bad plumber or is he right? Advice welcome please. Thanks Iain

 

[Exedon]

I presume you mean a wash hand basin?
You will get different opinions i think plumbers mate is and always was crap
Remove every last trace and use silicone and a decent poly washer above nut.

 

[Ijp68]

Yes it’s a small en-suite bathroom whb. Thanks for advice. I’m interested to know if it could be possible that a sink is actually “unsealable”. I’m thinking a good plumber should surely be able to sort it but I could be wrong! Cheers

 

[Wayners]

As above.
Very last resort use a smear of polymer mastic but I don't like doing that. Just means next time you got to get it off which is a pain

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Pic of the sink would be useful. Was the old waste covered in silicon etc?
Brand new waste shouldn't need any gunk on it to seal...

 

[Sonic70]

Silicone for me, I tried plumbers mait a number of times and it always leaked if the joint was disturbed slightly.

 

[Madrab]

Use one of these, and fill the gap in between the shank of the waste and the throat of the basin with a little silicone before fitting, not too much so it doesn't fill the overflow slot.

Basin Mate

Say goodbye to leaks for good with this basin waste seal kit from Epson. It functions with your current waste system. so you can use it to create an efficient seal and avoid drips or leaking on either newly fitted basins and sinks or existing ones.This Basin Mate kit is made from high-quality...

www.toolstation.com

 

[Fred Blogs]

What Madrab says. I fitted two brand new sinks in my two bathrooms when we moved in. I couldn't get either waste to seal. Went to Screwfix and got a couple of those and no more leaks

 

[ETAF]

this is the same sort of thing as suggested by Madrab suggested

I just happened to use this screwfix version, when i was having trouble with a new basin, could not get the supplied waste to seal...

Thomas Dudley Ltd Basin Waste Seal Kit 3 Piece Set - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. 1¼" basin waste seal kit that provides a strong seal on leaking wastes. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

this worked immediately.

No sealant/silicone or plumbers mate - which i also had in case

is this something you feel you can do your self ?

photos will help

 

[Bod ...]

Basins and WCs do get fractures, so it's possible.

However there are more people posing as plumbers than there are fractures in Basins .

 

[conny]

Make sure the new waste is the correct size. We had issues with all the sinks in college, (over 100 of them), because the 'plumbers' had fitted 1 1/4" wastes fittings to 1 1/2" waste outlets. They never seal tested them so when the college was opened we started discovering leaks all over. Called them back and they bunged a load of silicone around them, quick turn on of the tap and then left. Lots of them started to leak again so I was asked to have a look. Thats when I discovered the wrong sizes had been used. I also discovered, (as mentioned by Madrab), that a number of overfill slots had been sealed because of the amount of sealant they had used.