[speedball1]

Mike,
Look in the upper left hand corner for the date. You're answering a thread that's been closed since 2008.
We thank you for the in put amd wish to welcome you to The Plumbing Page. Regards, Tom

[gerryfey]

Hello all. I have been battling this problem for the last two days, and I believe I've finally solved the problem. I tried the pop-up drain, and that still didn't allow enough air through the holes, so I tried one more time at Home Depot and found this: Dearborn Brass Two piece Less overflow chain and stopper drain. It's a 1-1/4" x 5" 20-Gauge C.O. Plug drain. It's part number 763K-1. Basically, it's a drain with no overflow holes, very down-and-dirty basic. Here it is: http://kscdirect.com/item/DEA%2B763K-1/DEARBORN%2BBRASS_CO%2BPLUG%2B1.25%2BX%2B5%2B2PC%25 2C%2BBUDGET%250A

It doesn't look like much, and it isn't, but the key is, it's got huge holes for the air to get in as the water goes down the drain. It's not pretty, but it does the job. Hope this helps.

[Milo Dolezal]

Thanks for your update, Gerryfey...

[BruceAudretsch]

I think Speedball might have the best idea, however, if you can live without a built in stopper (people have done it for years), that's the most expedient way.

[speedball1]

Hey Bruce,
This thread has about run its course at over 20,000 hits. Bottom line? As long as they sell vessel sinks there will be drainage complaints, Cheers, Tom

[stevewaclo]

From another web site: Drill a tiny, diagonal down (so water does not come out) hole as high as possible in the pvc down tube that connects to the drain tail piece.

Just tried it... problem solved!

Apologies if somewhere in the 40 answers, this was suggested.

[speedball1]

WOW! Almost twenty one thousand hits on this thread. Why Steves solution will work why go to all that trouble when you can purchase drains made for vessel sinks, (see image)

[stevewaclo]

Yo speedball1:

Would like to respectfully submit that the vanity/vessel sink I bought at Lowe's has the exact grid drain pictured on the right in your response. As you and others others have noted, the situation seems to be related to surface tension and water hardness, which conspire to not allow the draining water and escaping air to share the same small holes in the grid. While enlarging the holes, as Donald suggested, improves the situation, the very small air bleed, drilled diagonally downward, high on the pvc solved the problem for me (not my original idea, BTW). And simply removing a few hand tight connections was a very simple task... especially since I had taken the plumbing apart about a dozen times anyway, and was getting much better at it than I ever wanted to be :-). Plus, if it doesn't work, you are out a $4 piece of plumbing.

BTW, fifilyn's pics (thanks!) show a situation somewhat different than my own in that my drain tailpiepe has a much smaller diameter, allowing for a perhaps 1/8" space all the way around between the tailpipe and the pvc. Nonetheless, (referring to fifilyn's pic) I suspect a tiny air break hole drilled as I've described just below the threaded connector on the pvc (and angled down, to be extra safe) would allow air to vent through very small gap around the tail piece and the pvc. Also, since the tiny drilled hole will be above the bottom end of the metal tail piece, leakage through the hole would only occur if the trap is blocked. Of course, if the trap is blocked, the vessel sink, lacking an overflow is going to run over anyway. Finally, since the hole is above the trap, there would appear to be no code conflicts.

Best wishes and Happy Holidays!

Steve

[speedball1]

What ever works for you Streve. Thanks for your input. And you have a happy holiday also. Tom

[chefdave]

Here's the easy and cheap solution: get a Bulb Syringe Aspirator and keep it by the sink. When the sink drains slow then put it up against a drain hole and squeeze.
I agree with the surface tension explanation. I think this breaks up the tension somehow and initiates a whirlpool effect to drain the sink. If possible it also helps to adjust the faucet direction off center to encourage a whirlpool. You'll still need the syringe in many cases.
A Bulb Syringe Aspirator is available in the baby section of many supermarket stores for about $3.

[speedball1]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

Mark

[jdeeewp]

Here is the cheapest solution that won't 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 can't 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]

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]

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