What a day for an amateur plumber. My bathroom sink is plugged up, and it looked like a good DIY project. The suction plunger did nothing, the auger did nothing, so I decide to undo the trap and clean it from there.
I got the front bolt on my trap partially undone, enough so that the backed up sink spilled out over the bolt and into my drip bucket. What's happening now is that I can't get that bolt re-tightened. I've cranked that sucker around and around at least 400 times (which was when I called it quits and turned to the experts - i.e. you all!). I never got the bolt fully open nor did I get the trap open, but neither can I get it closed.
It's old, old, old galvanized plumbing, and going to be entirely replaced in 3-4 months (which encouraged my DIY experimenting on it... How badly can I screw it up if I'm getting it replaced soon?). Can this bolt get stripped so it just spins in place? Is there anything I can do to get this closed up?
Thanks for the help -
Jeff
Trap nuts are funny and have to meet the threads of the trap straight. Make sure that the nut and the connecting trap meet at the right angle. Sometimes the connection needs to be pulled in oneway or the other to be sure that everything lines up. The slightest angle will cause what is happening to you. Oh, and it doesn't hurt to say this while doing it " @#^$#%$**%!"
You may want to simply pick up a plastic trap (around 3 dollars) and remove the old trap. Often times it saves a whole lot of trouble to just completely replace it. Sometimes the brass trap gets old and the solder that connects the threads to the tubular trap, breaks loose. When that happens, the nut will spin forever without ever tightening.
Good Luck
Raymond VinZant Plumbing Prof.
Good Luck
Raymond VinZant Plumbing Prof.