We live in a condo. Our kitchen sink will gurgle a lot. From time to time, there will be bubbles and even an overflow of bubbles and some sediment coming up from the kitchen drain. Someone has suggested that the problem is from the previous owner who relocated the kitchen sink and did not include the proper drop from the sink to the drain in the wall. Because there is a negative slope to the pipe, water cannot drain out of the pipe, the water gurgles and backs up. He has suggested that I need to re-do the drain system and have the water travel downhill at a sharper angle. I do not have a lot of money and would like to find another solution if it exists.
Plumbing – How to fix the kitchen sink cheaply
drainkitchensplumbingsink
Related Solutions
Sounds like a bad O-Ring on the stopper.
Here is a good picture for reference.
To remove the stopper, you'll have to remove the retaining nut at the back of the drain body. Once that's removed you'll pull the pivot rod out, this will allow you to remove the stopper.
Now that you have the stopper out, visually inspect the rubber gasket around the bottom of the plug (just under the chrome part). If the gasket is worn or cracked, you'll have to either replace it, or the entire stopper.
If you take the stopper with you to the hardware store, somebody there should be able to help you find what you need.
To put it all back together, put the stopper in the drain, insert the pivot rod (so it interacts with the stopper), then tighten the retaining nut back down. You can make minor adjustments by loosening the set screw that holds the lift rod to the clevis, and adjusting how deep the lift rod goes into the clevis.
WARNING:
Don't over tighten the retaining nut, or you could find that you won't be able to move the lift rod.
Unscrew the white compression nut and take a look at the sealing ring that is under it. These can get hard with age or over compressed and lose shape and thus lose its ability to squeeze tightly to the down drop pipe from the sink drain. If this is the case it is an indication that the sealing ring needs to be replaced.
The common type of the sealing ring is made of a nylon material whilst the orange colored one (purchased at big box store) is made of a more rubbery type plastic that will compress and squeeze much better under the compression nut. (In the picture I have cut the nylon part to show it's wedge shaped cross section). I have also seen the rubbery type wedge rings in a blue color as well. These better rubbery sealing rings cost more than the nylon types but are far superior in my opinion.
When you take apart the slip joint do take care to clean out the joint and the outside of the drop pipe to remove any old drain gunk and soap scum. A nice clean setup will result in the best seal of the wedge shaped sealing ring against the drop pipe.
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Best Answer
Since you already have a suspicion about the cause, the first step would be to confirm that. The drain should slope at a rate of 1/4" per foot. So if you had a 4' drain, there should be a difference of 1" in height between the start and end. If its negative then that's without a doubt the issue. If this is the cause, the only way to fix it is to re-plumb it. If you are handy, it is certainly doable.
If the slope isn't the issue then you have to start looking elsewhere. It is probably worth confirming that the trap is clear of obstructions. Remove the trap below the sink and clean it out.
If that fails then while it could still be a clog, its more likely a venting issue as BMitch suggested.
This isn't likely to be a big job for a plumber, so it might be most cost effective just to have one come out and do it right versus buying all the tools and parts needed.