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Cleaning a Sink Stopper

A How to Guide about Cleaning a Sink Stopper

Sink stoppers close off the drain hole in your sink so you can fill it with water. Occasionally, they can get gunked up with hair and soap and cause your sink to drain slowly – or not at all. Pop-up stoppers – the ones that close when you pull up on a little knob next to your faucets – are connected underneath your sink to a pivot rod. To clean the stopper, you'll need to disconnect the rod.

Your going to need a few tools for this job:
Pliers
Wire brush
Screwdrivers

removing sink stopper
Raise the stopper lever to the full upright (closed) position. Underneath the sink, unscrew the retaining nut that holds the pivot rod in place. Pull the pivot rod out of the drainpipe to release the stopper.
cleaning sink stopper
From above the sink, remove the stopper from the drain opening. Clean off any debris with a small wire brush. Inspect the gasket for wear and damage and replace it if necessary. Put the stopper back into the drain opening.
replacing sink stopper
If the stopper doesn't work quite right, you can adjust it. From underneath the sink, loosen the clevis screw and slide the clevis up or down on the stopper rod. When it works just right, tighten the clevis screw.

  • Fooling around with plumbing can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. View our Plumbing Safety Tips to make sure you don't do anything you might regret later.

  • If you dont know how your system works, please check out our Plumbing Basics page. It shows you how your pipes run through your house, and also explains about how your system should be setup.

  • In a plumbing emergency, you'll need to stop the flow of water quickly. To do this, you and each member of your family needs to know the location of the shutoff valve for every fixture and appliance, as well as the main shutoff valve for the house, and how they operate. Check out our Plumbing Emergency Info to better equip you and your family with the knowledge of how to handle a plumbing emergency.

Still having problems Cleaning a Sink Stopper? Our Plumbing Technicians are available 24 hours. Simply call your local number (San Diego Metro (619) 937-7047, San Diego Beaches (858) 248-4154, North County (760) 764-4024, East County (619) 937-7047) or select your San Diego city and you will be given a local phone number for plumbers in your specific area. Don't want to call? No problem! Fill out our 30 second service request form, and we will call and schedule your appointment according to your timeframe. Check out our Safety Information page for how to keep from harming yourself or others while you repair.

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