Bathroom sink leak

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d0nkeyk0ng
d0nkeyk0ng Posts: 873 Forumite
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in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving
The wife's noticed that there's water on the floor under the sink in the bathroom. At first we put it down to me being messy. But it persisted over the last two weeks and I've had today off so I investigated a bit further.

I cleaned the area dry, stuck newspaper under the sink and then slowly ran the taps so the bowl was full but didn't run up to the overflow hole. There was water slowly leaking (drop by drop) on to the newspaper. I can't feel any wetness from around the trap or waste pipe but the bottom of the sink is wet.

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I've attached pictures. The red circled area is the bit of the sink that's wet. There's no cracks that I can see in the sink. Any ideas where the water's travelling through?
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  • Stevie_Palimo
    Stevie_Palimo Posts: 3,306 Forumite
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    If you are not messy enough for it top be coming over the top of the sink and the pipes seem dry and the sink seems crack free then it must be on the waste outlet/pipe area that is leaking slightly.

    You could try and check the plug area by removing the part you see and seeing if the rest is tight enough and if so then it must be underneath.
  • Ruski
    Ruski Posts: 1,628 Forumite
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    Fill up the sink and watch it drip - that will tell you where it's coming from, if nothing happens after 15 minutes, fill to the overflow and watch it again. (may be only a crack in the overflow part of the porcelain)

    Report back!

    p.s. flexi waste connection? Could someone not be bothered??!!

    Russ
    Perfection takes time: don't expect miracles in a day :D
  • JohnB47
    JohnB47 Posts: 2,544 Forumite
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    Interesting. It looks like the overflow is internal to the bowl - I can't see any external pipework for that.

    An observation - the waste fitting, when viewed from below, seems not to be fitted centrally in the hole. Could it be that water is creeping around that black rubber sealing washer because it's not fully sealing the area? If so, depending on the shape of the underside, it could explain why that drip is there. Water could be creeping past the washer, then along the underside of the bowl to the lowest point, then dripping down. The position of the damp patch on the paper would support that idea.


    I second the idea to check where the water is coming from, first by filling with cold water, then with hot - the heat may open any cracks that are there. Use a torch.
  • d0nkeyk0ng
    d0nkeyk0ng Posts: 873 Forumite
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    Ruski wrote: »
    Fill up the sink and watch it drip - that will tell you where it's coming from, if nothing happens after 15 minutes, fill to the overflow and watch it again. (may be only a crack in the overflow part of the porcelain)
    Yep planning to do this. I've just poured water straight down the drain but managed to spill a bit into the sink so waiting for it to dry a little and retry.
    Ruski wrote: »
    p.s. flexi waste connection? Could someone not be bothered??!!
    I know. Looks odd. This is how things were when we moved in last year. What should the waste look like?
    JohnB47 wrote: »
    Interesting. It looks like the overflow is internal to the bowl - I can't see any external pipework for that.
    It is. There's a small "bump" running from the back of the sink to the waste. The rest of the sink underneath is a smooth round bowl.
    JohnB47 wrote: »
    An observation - the waste fitting, when viewed from below, seems not to be fitted centrally in the hole.
    It looks fairly central to me but I'm not really experienced in plumbing things yet.

    JohnB47 wrote: »
    I second the idea to check where the water is coming from, first by filling with cold water, then with hot - the heat may open any cracks that are there. Use a torch.
    Will do.
  • Carrot007
    Carrot007 Posts: 4,534 Forumite
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    Adding some food colouring to the full sink may help you see where the drip is coming from.
  • Grenage
    Grenage Posts: 2,899 Forumite
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    I normally cable tie tissue paper around joins, when I'm having problems locating leaks. Helps you narrow down the source.

    In this case, if there's no crack in the sink, it must be coming over from the side or back.
  • d0nkeyk0ng
    d0nkeyk0ng Posts: 873 Forumite
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    I added some red food colouring but it didn't help.

    I did a few tests but realistically I think I need the sink to dry out fully before trying again.

    1. Used a plastic water bottle with the bottom cut off as a funnel. Took the top of the click-clack plug off and poured water directly down the drain. No leak.

    2. Filled with cold water to overflow - leak (one drop every 10-13 secs)
    3. Filled with cold water so level was below overflow - leak (as above)
    4. Filled with hot water to overflow - leaking a bit quicker (one drop every 8-10 secs)
    5. Filled with hot water so under overflow level - leaking a bit quicker (as above)
    6. Opening the plug after steps 3 and 5 - leaked a bit more quickly (every 5 secs)

    The trap/waste area is bone dry. I've been checking by running toilet paper around each section. The moisture is always from the red circled area.

    To me, this means the trap/pipes are okay but either there's a leak around the plug hole, or there's a crack under the plughole that can't be seen from the outside.

    Any suggestions how to proceed? I plan to leave the sink alone for a few hours to make sure there's no water dripping and then do the same tests as above.
  • JohnB47
    JohnB47 Posts: 2,544 Forumite
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    If the whole area is dried off before you set the drip off again, can't you feel around with your finger to see if the water is tracking from somewhere else to that point where the drip is?


    I'm still betting on a weep of water coming from above that black sealing washer, along the underside of the bowl, to the drip point. Simply wiping your finger along the underside of the bowl should help track the flow path of the water.


    If the area around the drip point is dry, then there must be a crack in the bowl, which I think is unlikely.
  • Ruski
    Ruski Posts: 1,628 Forumite
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    It's really difficult to get the perspective for the bottom of the bowl - it 'looks' like the waste outlet of the bowl is low, then the ceramic goes 'up hill' before coming back down to the outer level (all as viewed from underneath).

    If this IS the case then it can't be the waste connection as water can't run uphill - unless there's a part of the bowl we can't see which is at the same level as the waste outlet ?
    Perfection takes time: don't expect miracles in a day :D
  • Le_Kirk
    Le_Kirk Posts: 22,322 Forumite
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    edited 18 October 2016 at 9:20AM
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    I'm with this ^^^. I cannot see how water can run uphill unless it is the perspective of the photo. OP, why didn't food colouring help? If water is coming from the waste outlet and tracking across to the side of the wash basin, you should be able to see it. If it is just coming from a crack, there would be now water (coloured or plain) tracking across the basin.
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