The kitchen in the Front Cabin is getting a new look with open shelving and white countertops. The existing kitchen sink was in need of some TLC to bring it back to life. This post will show you some easy, low cost DIY kitchen sink repair options and clean ups to get your kitchen sink running like new again.
Our Kitchen Sink:
First let me show you what we’re working with. This is a small countertop mounted stainless steel sink with a Delta single handle faucet. As you can see, it’s still in functional shape, but could use a little TLC.
I’ve got the blue tape around the edges in preparation to paint those laminate kitchen countertops. It looks better in the photo, but the kitchen faucet leaks from the handle every time we use it. And there is a build up of general brown crud where the faucet meets the sink.
Another issue is that the sink drain AND the p-trap both have a small slow drip. I’ve avoided fixing this by simply placing a bowl under the drip spot. That’s worked for a few years but it’s time to fix it.
This is the underside of the sink with my drip bowl. We haven’t used the sink much lately so the drip is currently inactive, but I know it will just come back.
Everything under the sink is so dusty! That is because I decided to DIY refinish the kitchen pine floors. In sanding them down, I got dust absolutely everywhere! I learned a TON in that flooring project and shared all my mishaps and lessons in that post if you want to check it out.
Ok, back to the sink. I cleared out all the random junk from the sink cabinet. Here is out cleaned out starting point.
Clean Up Cabinet Bottom:
This poor sink cabinet has seen better days. There are a number of water stains and dark spots on the bottom of the cabinet. But outside of the stains, it’s still is decent condition.
Here’s a closer look at the base before we get moving.
Out of sight, out of mind, right? I had some leftover white contact paper that worked great to cover up the bottom stains. This isn’t your grandma’s contact paper that will never come off! They make removable contact paper now. So if I later decided to just primer and paint to clean up the cabinet bottom, I can simply peel the contact paper off.
You could also choose a fun or classy contact paper design. I had white on hand, so that’s what I used. Here is the cleaned up base.
I was able to lift the metal grommets and cut the paper to work around the pipes. You can see I removed the flexible water supply lines in preparation for other fixes.
If you remove the water supply lines, remember which one is hot and where it attaches to the sink faucet! Otherwise, if the hot line gets mixed up, your sink won’t give you hot water like you expect.
Replace Water Supply Valves:
Typical construction around here includes valves on the water supply lines under the sink. That way, you can easily turn the water off if you need to repair the sink. The typical lifespan of residential water supply valves is generally 10 to 15 years. Ours were about 25 years old at least and were starting to feel a bit sticky, like they weren’t operating smoothly. So, I decided to give them an upgrade.
You can buy water supply valves at your local hardware store. Make you match up the diameter of our supply lines with your new valve outlets. If you’re in the US, you probably have 1/2 inch diameter pipes, but give that quick check before buying new valves.
I decided to go with quarter turn valves because I prefer the ease of only a quarter turn to completely turn off or on the water. The old valves took multiple turns, and quiet frankly, don’t feel as well made.
Each valve was under $10 from my local hardware supply store. You’ll likely need a pair of wrenches to remove and install new ones. Here’s an excellent YouTube video where I to learned how to replace these.
So, 20 bucks and the water supply valves are good as new!
Oh, one suggestion for when you have the old valves removed: update the metal covers where the pipes meet the cabinet or the wall. They are called pipe escutcheons. No idea on how to pronounce that! You can buy replacement ones for really cheap and new clean ones really class up the look.
Replace Water Supply Lines:
Another item known to fail or burst over time is the water supply lines. You can easily find replacement lines at Home Depot or a local hardware store. So if your lines are over 10 years old, consider replacing them. I found the length I needed for under $8 a line, so under $16 for a quick supply line replacement.
Here are the updated lines.
Kitchen P-Trap Replacement:
From what I could tell, BOTH the kitchen sink drain AND the p-trap had small leaks. P-trap gaskets wear out over time. I think the seal had gone bad on the sink drain. So let’s replace them and get rid of those pesky drips.
The p-trap plumbing parts are typically installed with hand-tightened compression nuts. This type of plumbing connection is relatively easy to remove and replace without many if any tools. It’s hand tighten and hand remove.
Our p-trap had a small leak so I bought a few replacement p-trap kits at Home Depot to see which worked best. I tried a white plastic one that cost under $5. I couldn’t get the fit quite right. So I tried the black ABS p-trap kit for under $5. It worked great. That’s one leak fixed for $5!
These are some of the p-trap kits I picked up at Home Depot to get something to work. Now I have a lot of options and back ups for the future.
Kitchen Sink Drain Replacement:
Home depot also sells replacement kitchen sink drain kits that are really easy to install. The trickiest part for me was removing the old drain. Basically, you want to hold the drain from rotating while loosing a mounting nut below the sink.
Typically, you can use a universal sink and faucet tool shown in the photo below.
The red section comes off. Place the metal section with prongs into the drain holes. That large hole through the tool is for a screw driver or something use add more leverage if needed.
While someone above is holding the drain tool from rotating, another person below loosens the mounting nut, shown in the photo below. You can use a large wrench. I’ve found an adjustable oil filter wrench works great here too. Here is my oil filter wrench at work.
This is a side view of the oil filter wrench so you can see it clearly.
Typically, those tools work great to remove an old kitchen sink drain. But, I could not get that loose for the life of me! I got my husband to help. It was not budging. So in the end I simply sawed it off the mounting nut with a metal hack saw. Problem solved.
Follow the directions that come with the kitchen sink drain kit. Some will tell you to use plumbers putty to seal the drain to the sink. I use 100% silicone caulk and find that works great too.
Here is the underside of the sink looking good as new with a new drain, new p-trap, and new water supply valves and lines. Much better yeah? And no leaks!
Delta Single Handle Faucet Repair:
The type of Delta faucet we have is super common and been around for years. The good thing about that is that there are repair parts available at big box stores like Home Depot. Plus, there are a lot of YouTube videos our there on how to repair these faucets. This YouTube video covers the leaky faucet repair steps amazingly well, so if you plan to fix your own leaky Delta faucet, check out that video here.
I bought a tiny Delta faucet repair kit from my local big box store, but you can also find it on Amazon. Just follow that repair video and get your faucet working good as new.
Deep Clean the Stainless Steel Sink:
I used to clean kitchen sinks by scrubbing then down with a baking soda paste and then rising it off with white vinegar. But, that can take a lot of scrubbing to get stains and marks off the sink. I’ve found a better way.
Here’s what I use. It’s called Bar Keeper’s Friend and it is amazing! This stuff makes tarnished stainless steel shine again. It cleans up shower stains that I couldn’t get any other way. It also removed rings from the toilets here that were super stubborn otherwise.
So yeah, if you’re going to scrub down your kitchen sink, try out Bar Keeper’s Friend. You’re welcome!
Add Sink Mounted Soap Dispenser:
The last item on the list to clean up the sink area is to add a soap dispenser. Lets take a look at our “before” photo again. See the raised round circle to the right of the faucet? That is actually a hole cover! You can remove it by unscrewing it from below the sink.
Now we have a perfect spot for a sink mounted soap dispenser. Amazon has tones to choose from, so just pick a style you like. I ordered a simple one to match the sink. They come with easy instructions and install in minutes.
That completes all our kitchen sink repair and clean up items. Here is our new-to-us kitchen sink looking sparkly and running leak-free!
