PDA

View Full Version : Unexplained large kitchen sink leak


kg30
Nov 21, 2005, 01:17 PM
Last night after running the water normally and rinsing off vegatables I noticed the kitchen sink draining a little slow, but nothing I thought anything of. After running the water and rinsing off the veggies and washing the dishes I turned off the water and the sink drained. I did not run the disposal because I didn't put any food down the disposal. About an hour and a half later we heard a light 'gurgling' water sound and I looked in the disposal/sink basin and noticed some soapy water in there. I ran the disposal and then happened to notice a little water on the kitchen rug in front of the sink. I then opend up the under sink cabinet and noticed water with lots of soap bubbles. Our dishwasher had not been used all day and was never turned on and the inside of the dishwasher was fine. Help!

fredg
Nov 22, 2005, 06:19 AM
Hi,
This might not be the problem, but worth a look.
Have you checked your dishwasher drain hose, coming from the diswasher to beneath the sink? Normally, the drain hose connects to the top of the garbage disposal.
Mine created a leak in the dishwasher drain hose, with water on the kitchen floor rug. Had to pull out the dishwasher, then found a small hole in the drain hose.
I do wish you the best, and hope you find it.

kg30
Nov 22, 2005, 08:19 AM
Thanks, we'll look into the dishwasher drain hose, never thought of that. Thanks for the tip!

speedball1
Nov 22, 2005, 04:45 PM
Fred gave you a place to start. However, since you stated, " Our dishwasher had not been used all day and was never turned on and the inside of the dishwasher was fine." It's unlikely it's the washer hose. Open up the cabinet and fill first one tub and let it drain. Now fill the tub with the disposal, turn it on and drain that tub. You should be able to spot the leak by now. Let me know exactly where it is and We'll start to repair it.
Regards, Tom

kg30
Nov 23, 2005, 08:30 AM
We'll try that tip tonight, thank you! When you say fill up the second tub with the disposal and turn it on, you just want to leave the disposal on a few seconds then turn it off and then drain the sink correct?

speedball1
Nov 23, 2005, 03:46 PM
"you just want to leave the disposal on a few seconds then turn it off and then drain the sink correct?"

Leave it run while you check for leaks. Cheers, Tom

kg30
Nov 25, 2005, 05:28 PM
Ok, we did fill up both sinks (and ran disposal for a few seconds in the left sink tub) and we did find that one of the plastic PVC pipes on the left side under the sink 'spat' out water. It looks like the PVC pipe is not a full pipe (there is a gray plastic piece that is fit inside the cut off PVC pipe and then a smaller gray plastic pipe is set into that and the small gray plastic pipe routes around to a hole next to the dishwasher line that we presume goes out to main pipes). It seems this entire piece may need to be re-fit and sized but we aren't quite sure how. It only seems to "spit" out water in that area when there is excess pressure (like you suggested we try in our 'test'). Any thoughts?

Thanks again :)

speedball1
Nov 26, 2005, 04:46 AM
"It looks like the PVC pipe is not a full pipe (there is a gray plastic piece that is fit inside the cut off PVC pipe and then a smaller gray plastic pipe is set into that and the small gray plastic pipe routes around to a hole next to the dishwasher line that we presume goes out to main pipes"

Plumbers do not use "gray plastic pipe" and we don't just stick one pipe into another and hope it won't leak. Gray plastic is used by electrictions for electrical conduit. All the gray pipe has to be replaced. If you could post a picture of what you have I can help but without seeing what needs to be replaced I can't tell you what to buy. While replacing the pipes is the best repair you could make there is a item on the market called Pow-R Wtap that might let you repair the leaks without tearing up the installation. Check it out at;
http://www.wired-2-shop.com/joneakes/ProductDetail.asp?ProdID=49&nPrdImageID=&CatID=10
Good luck and let me know what you decide. Tom

kg30
Nov 26, 2005, 01:51 PM
Yeah, looks like they definitely used a short cut they shouldn't have. We'll send pictures soon so we can figure it out. Thanks and we'll reply soon.