New Vessel Sink without overflow drains slow

speedball1 · Jul 31, 2012, 01:53 PM

Are we talking breast pumps here? Because if we are I have a much better place to place it over then a lavatory drain. Yours for giggles, Tom

chefdave · Aug 1, 2012, 11:31 AM

Cute

No, it's something used to clear a baby's nose. Amazon uses this exact terminology. After almost 3 years of struggling with this problem, and getting no help whatsoever from professionals, we discovered that blowing through a straw into the drain cleared the backup. The straw was a nuisance so we found this bulb worked too. We have 2 very different kinds of sinks (one deep, one shallow), both with grid drain and without overflow, and it works almost 100% of the time under all sorts of conditions. One plumbing store still insists we have a clog in the drain.

massplumber2008 · Aug 1, 2012, 11:42 AM

Hi Chef

I think most people coming to the plumbing page will be looking for a little bit more permanent solution, but thanks for posting your information.

When you finally get tired of using those aspirator syringes I would recommend that you consider purchasing a FLIP TOP VESSEL SINK DRAIN (see image). Over the last few years or so they really have worked out the kinks with these things. With the flip top drain you'll get a 50-50 mix of air and water and the sinks will drain perfectly. They are super easy to install...just need some plumber's putty is all!

Good luck!

Mark

PS The guy that thinks you still have a clogged drain is an idiot!!

chefdave · Aug 2, 2012, 01:16 PM

Thank you! I have never heard of these drains before. As common as this problem is, I'm surprised there is so little known about it.

speedball1 · Aug 2, 2012, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chefdave

Thank you! I have never heard of these drains before. As common as this problem is, I'm surprised there is so little known about it.

Well someone knows about it. we have had over twenty two thousand hits on this thread in the last six years. Regards, Tom

mntraveler · Feb 11, 2013, 04:54 PM

Thank you all, for posting your findings. I love the looks of my vessel sink, but not the draining issues. I am so thankful that I could learn from your experience, and will hopefully only have to fix the problem once as a result! Thanks, Kara

massplumber2008 · Feb 11, 2013, 04:57 PM

Thank you for posting, Kara. Glad if we helped!

Mark

jdeeewp · Feb 22, 2013, 02:17 PM

here is the cheapest solution that wont risk a leaking drain if the trap gets clogged down the road.

fit the drain with a dishwasher drain tee, and attach flexible tubing and adapters as needed to run the tube above the top of the sink bowl. I cant believe i haven't seen anyone else doing this. See the attached pic

(http://i46.tinypic.com/69nslu.jpg)

I have been running this vent for a month now, no problems.

The issue is air coming out by the way (not air admittance). Aerated water makes its way into the drain but the trap stops the air from continuing, this builds up a little pressure. combine that pressure with the water surface tension on the grate of the drain and there's your slow drain.
You can always test this with a straw, just shove it down the drain when its acting slow.

massplumber2008 · Feb 22, 2013, 02:57 PM

I'll give you the "cheapest" solution award, Jdweeep, but not the best solution by any means! Here, they have really figured out vessel sink drains over the last few years and a simple swap over to a flip-top (see image), a push button pop-up (see image), or an umbrella vessel sink drain (see image) work great for these vessel sinks without overflows.

The same cannot be said for the standard grid type drain that comes with most vessel sinks!

Thanks for posting!

Mark

jdeeewp · Feb 22, 2013, 03:23 PM

Tried that, She didn't like the look of it...

New Vessel Sink without overflow drains slow

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