Drop-in sinks are a popular option for many homeowners. They’re often easy to install, and they fit in small spaces. However, if you don’t take the right precautions when installing these types of sinks, it can be hard to uninstall them.
Read on for some helpful tips on how to remove a drop in sink without damaging your countertop or flooring! Our readers will now know why this post is relevant and what type of information they’ll get out of it so that they’re motivated to continue reading.
We would also suggest you read our related articles on top granite sink & utility sink reviews.
Table Of Contents
Detailed Steps On How To Remove A Drop In Sink
Detach the Faucet
The first thing to do when you notice a drop in sink is to detach the faucet. This will prevent any water from leaking out of your sink and causing other problems, such as flooding or leaking under your cabinets.
To detach it, turn off the water supply valve at the wall if possible. If not, shut off the mainline by turning the water off at the main shut-off valve. Next, find how your faucet is attached to the sink and use a wrench or pliers to unscrew it from its attachment point.
Once detached, turn on the water supply again to allow any remaining water in the pipes to drain out. Finally, take apart any attachments that are underneath the sink, such as garbage disposal, and remove all attachments from under the faucet.
Separate the Drain
The first thing you have to do to disconnect the drain has placed a bucket under the hole and unscrew the pipe. Place a bucket under the drain to catch any water that may leak out as you disconnect it from its connection point.
Then, use your pliers or wrench to detach the plug at the bottom of your sink, where it connects with other plumbing pipes to remove any remaining water inside it.
You can then take apart any attachments under the sink, such as garbage disposal. You should also remove any attachments (such as spray attachments) to make sure water won’t leak out of them again once you reattach your faucet.
Now is when things start getting tricky: you have to detach pipes attached to your sink’s back wall. This is where it can get dangerous because you might have to crawl under your sink and work in tight spaces, so make sure that the area underneath your kitchen sink is already cleaned out before starting this step.
You may also want some extra light if possible since many sinks are located close to wall outlets or other electrical appliances such as a stove. Detach the pipes from your sink wall and remove any attachments connected to them, such as garbage disposal.
Next, unscrew the pipe from your garbage disposal and detach it completely. If you have a spray attachment such as an ice-maker or soap dispenser on top of your sink connected to this drain, then make sure to detach those attachments before removing them together.
Finally, take off any attachments which are underneath the sink. Depending on your setup, these may be a dishwasher hose, garbage disposal attachments, or a water heater attachment.
Seprate Grabge Disposer
Unscrew mounting screws to remove it from its base plate, then pull up on the disposal’s wire cord and turning off power underneath the sink before removing the garbage line
Separate drain by unscrewing clamp that attaches it to the pipe below. Then loosen the metal nut at the bottom of the pipe with a wrench or channel lock pliers and turn it to the left until you feel a snap.
Remove the pipe from the drain with pliers, and then remove the clamp for garbage disposal. After separating the drain, use mounting screws that came with your new sink to attach the bottom of the mounting plate at the top of the hole in the countertop where the old one was installed. Place cabinet bracket (if included) over the hole.
Loosen the Sink Clips
So once you have removed the garbage disposal, now it’s time to lose the sink clips; there are usually two clips on each side of the sink. To loosen them, you will need to use a flathead screwdriver and insert it into the crack between the sink’s plastic mounting bracket and metal clip armature by prying back and forth until they release
Once loosened, remove both clips from their respective sides of the hole opening. Once all the clips are loose, you can now remove the sink from its base.
Remove any obstructions that might cause a water leak, and use your fingers to loosen up any rags or other items around it before removing them as well. This will ensure nothing else between the bottom of the sink and where it connects with the drain.
Once the sink is removed, there might be a dangling pipe that you need to remove from under the sink. This will depend on where your problem originated and if it was caused by anything else other than just low water or clogging.
Take caution when doing so as not to break any of these pipes, but don’t worry too much because this problem will now be solved regardless. This article is an example of how to remove a drop in sink step by step process.
It has been written from the perspective of someone who fixes sinks for a living.
Cut Across the Caulk
Here, the step gets tricky: you have to cut the caulk at the top of your drop in sink. The best tool for this is a utility knife, but you can also use an old kitchen utensil such as a spatula.
You will need to cut the caulk in order to get underneath it and pull out the hair clogs that are causing your sink drain problem. Once you have scraped away all of the excess caulk, you will need to clean the edges.
This is important because if there are pieces of caulk still sticking onto your drop in sink, these can cause a secondary issue and make it difficult for the new caulk to adhere properly.
Finally, Pullout The Sink
Lastly, after cutting off all the caulk, now it’s time to remove your sink. This is the same process as removing a drop-in sink any other time, but this time you’ll want to be careful not to break or damage your caulk seal.
Doing so can create another problem for yourself if there are still hair clogs behind it, and then leaking water through the bottom of your drop in sink will start again. Once you have removed the sink, it is important to find out what caused your drop in sink.
It could be just hair clogs, but you may need to do some more thorough cleaning or repair work. There are a lot of reasons for this problem, and how you remove them will depend on where they came from.
Tools Required To Remove Drop-In Sink
Basin Wrench
A basin wrench is a plumbing tool that becomes a useful tool to remove a clog when inserted into the drain of the sink. The basin wrench has two ends: one end can be used as a handle, and the other end is for removing the clog.
Adjustable Wrench
The adjustable wrench is a widely used plumbing tool for tightening and loosening nuts. The adjustable wrench can be adjusted to have many different settings and can even be used on a variety of sizes of nuts and bolts.
Tongue-And-Groove Pliers
The tongue-and-groove pliers have a jaw that can be set to a specific width. The grooved side of the jaw is designed to grip pipes, and the teeth on the other side are designed for gripping fittings.
Tongue-and-groove pliers are often used for pipe benders or slip joint pliers because their jaws can be adjusted.
Bucket
A bucket is a common tool used in plumbing. The bucket can be filled with water or any other liquid and then quickly spilled into the sink to help unclog it.
If using this method, make sure not to use hot water because the sudden change of temperature will cause stress on pipes, making them more susceptible to bursting.
Rag
A rag is a tool that can be used to clean surfaces. The benefit is that the rag is usually sold in a package that comes with soap making it easy to clean the sink. The rag is also cheaper than buying a new one and does not need to be replaced very often.
Screwdriver
A screwdriver is a tool that can be used for loosening or tightening screws. When dealing with the inside of a plumbing system, the screwdriver may not be necessary.
A different type of tool would need to be used instead, such as a pipe wrench. Screwdrivers are designed with many different types of tips which helps them work well on a variety of screws in various materials.
Utility Knife
A utility knife is a tool commonly used for tasks like opening boxes, cutting carpet or vinyl, scraping paint, and more. The blade of the utility knife can be changed depending on what you are using it for.
Pry Bar
A pry bar is a tool that can be used as a lever to move or lift things. The pry bar usually has a pointed end and a flat end, and the flat end is usually hooked at the other end of the pry bar.
Pry bars are made from many materials such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum, etc. They are used for tasks like breaking open doors or picking up heavy objects. Pry bars may also be called “slip joint pliers” because they have jaws that are adjustable.
Final Verdict
If you’ve found yourself in a situation where your drop-in sink has been damaged or broken and you’re looking for guidance on how to remove it, then this article is perfect for you.
We’ll walk through the steps on how to remove a drop in sink from one’s kitchen countertop so that it can be replaced with an updated model.
This process should take no more than 30-50 minutes per person and requires minimal tools with our easy steps to follow when replacing your old drop-in sink!