Pro Handyman Blog

Kitchen Sink Strainer Moves

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If you have a kitchen sink strainer that moves, you will need to tighten it from underneath the kitchen sink. This isn't a difficult job, but you may need to remove it first. Plus, the strainer will tend to spin as you tighten the nut underneath it.

I would try to just tighten it from below first, and then run some water to see if it leaks. To stop the strainer from spinning, take a pair of pliers and turn them so that the handles of the pliers will fit down into the holes of the strainer. Then you can place a screwdriver or pipe in the jaws of the pliers to hold it still. This will allow you to hold onto the pliers from above the sink as you tighten the nut from below.

If after running water you find a leak, I would remove the strainer completely and reinstall some plumbers putty under the lip of the strainer then reinstall it. A lot of times if a strainer becomes loose, it will lose the seal created by the putty. So you may have to install new putty and retighten.

Scoop out some plumbers putty and roll it between your hands until the "snake" is about the diameter of a pencil. Push this under the lip of the strainer and retighten. You should see the putty squeeze out from under the entire lip of the strainer as you tighten.