I'm trying to remove my bathroom sink stopper so that I can clean out the drain.
I found these instructions for doing so but they talk about a pivot nut that can be loosened. Under my sink, in the place where a pivot nut is shown in the diagram on that link mine has this round fitting with grippy edges. I tried to use a needle nose pliers on it but it just slides and won't grip and I can't get leverage to turn it and loosen it.
What is the correct tool for loosening this fitting? Sorry I don't know much about hardware or plumbing so I don't know the proper term for the round fitting.
Best Answer
Don't bother with all that, just remove the U shaped pipe (The Trap) which should be a pressure fitting that can be easily unscrewed without any tools. Most of the crap will be in that U part of the pipe, the rest you can get out by sticking something like a toilet brush or pipe cleaner up the exposed pipe.
BTW: Be sure to put a bucket under the pipe before you unscrew it, some nasty water will likely leak out.
As for that pivot nut, if you really want to remove it, it USUALLY is easy enough to unscrew with your bare fingers, but if it is rusted you can use a pair of channel lock pliers. If it is just spinning however, it may be all the way off the threads and you just need to pull it back. It is attached to a rod that pivots in the middle of the pipe. You might need to shake it a little to get it loose, it will also probably help to detach the rod that goes from the sink stopper pull to that nut since it will get in the way.