Check out some similar questions!

jodymu · Dec 27, 2013, 02:26 PM

I have a house without overflows in the bathroom sinks. I wish I could say I was careful, BUT... I was in a hurry - getting ready for work. I turned on the sink and the shower (to get the warm water to the bathroom which is across the house from the hot water tank). I had the sink plugged because I was filling it to get some toothpaste that had dried on the bowl off -- Well, the phone rang... I answer it - when back and jumped in the shower, forgeting about the sink (did not hear it because the shower was on)... When I came out of the shower... my bathroom was flooded... all the cabinets under the sink were flooded (I even have drawers filled with water. It went out onto the carpet of the masterbedroom... I used about 15 towels to dry everything - it was AWEFUL! Of course I feel like an idiot, but I know that acidents happen when you least expect it... so I am looking into changing out sinks to have and over flow... Builder was cheap... (the house is only 14 months old - just past the one year warranty). Any suggestions?

speedball1 · Dec 27, 2013, 02:46 PM

I am looking into changing out sinks to have and over flow...

Is what you're saying is that you wish to replace the sink because of a backup? There are two ways to look at this.
1-you overloaded the system with too much water and it backed up.
2-you have a partial blockage in the lavatory drain lines.
When you drain the lavatory. Do you hear a bubble from the shower or does it back up a little? Can you give me any more details? Back to you, Tom

hkstroud · Dec 27, 2013, 03:57 PM

Tom, check OP post.

I had the sink plugged because I was filling it to get some toothpaste that had dried on the bowl off -

No blockage, just that the lavatories don't have overflows.

jodymu,
Change out lavatories or put timer on phone. Almost all lavatories have integral overflows, even cheap ones. Lavatories sinks without overflows do exist but it is indeed rare.

jodymu · Dec 27, 2013, 11:39 PM

The sink is not plugged and drains fine - very quickly. The builder was cheap and put no over flow in any of the sinks (in any of the houses they built) - I called the builder's superintendent and he told me they have no over flow and the drains are not rigged to pop up if the sink gets too full... in other words... Niagra Falls all over the floor, etc. This circumstance was unusual, but if my grandson decided to leave the sink running just for fun... who knows? There has to be a solution aside from replacing everything (sinks, counter, etc) at a huge cost. The sinks are part of the counter - all one piece of plastic - is it possible to drill holes and create an over flow? The last house we had also had some sinks without over flow drains (seems to be common in newer Arizona homes - all built cheaply), but whenever the sinks filled at our former home to about 3/4 full the drain popped up and the water drained out quickly. I have been looking online, but I cannot seem to find drains like that. I am still in shock that I let this happen. It was an accident, but still... stupid (I'm kicking myself).