# Plumbing question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490 "2016-12-23T22:44:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490/21 "2016-12-25T00:46:00Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > aybe, but you need to use the slip-joints in places (like under the kitchen sink) where you might have to clean out the trap, or even add a disposal or replace the faucets over the years. You need to be able to undo connections remove the pipes on occasion. Unless you are willing to just tear it all out & replace it every time! Where the drain pipe comes out of the wall, there’s a screw joint, a little teflon dope and that’s fine … we have threaded joints on either side of the p-trap, but the ABS material doesn’t need compression washers, so it can take a bit more torque than PVC … however, we do have the slip-joint up on the sink tail pipe, and that can be mischievous … come time to run the drain snake through, everything spins apart … everything spins back together … a dab of dope is better than having to replace all the washers and worry about over-tighening (see [Renee’s post #5](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19874532&postcount=5)) … Okay, not the best solution if one is redoing everything sink-wise every three months … but if we’re looking for something that will last a long time … well, that’s the beauty of schedule 40 … and that’s why schedule 40 is code inside the walls … ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490/22 "2016-12-25T01:12:16Z")
Interesting. You should, by the layout of the plumbing, have standing water in the disposer – maybe not a lot of water, but it looks like the lowest point of the drain pipe to the wall is right about at the highest point of the disposer drain. My set up, which has a double sink with a disposer under one and a dish washer drain, has the wall drain lower than the disposer drain. The wall drain needs to be lowest or you’ll have standing water in the pipes. You should have water just in the j trap. Moving the outlet drain down would be a trivial job for a plumber. I’m fairly handy, but I’d hire it done. Someone mentioned that the O-rings are actually beveled bushing. They do have a proper orientation, and if not installed correctly the joint will leak. Don’t listen to anyone puffing about how they wouldn’t use a garbage disposer or dishwasher. That’s why god gave us electricity. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490/23 "2016-12-25T07:36:01Z")
Ditch your microwave oven too … they are evil ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490/24 "2016-12-25T09:22:26Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > FWIW, the disposal is not always full of water. mmm From your picture, unless the perspective is skewed, yes it is. See the schematic(s) @ [https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cross+section+disposer&ia=images&iax=1&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F6%2F63%2FGarbage\_disposal\_innards.png](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cross+section+disposer&ia=images&iax=1&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F6%2F63%2FGarbage_disposal_innards.png) It appears that the area below the impeller plate (not visible to you from above) is remaining full of water. It should not. Irrespective of this notion, if you follow **watchwolf49**'s advice of re plumbing with glued Sched.40, your leaking problem will go away… At least until the grinder basket or pump seals fail due to being perpetually under water. The choice is yours. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2016, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490/25 "2016-12-25T11:53:42Z")
Beveled nylon bushing, correct. I typed ‘O-ring’ not knowing the nomenclature. I may have put it in backwards on the first ‘fix’ that failed. I probably also over-tightened as described in an earlier post. I shouldn’t be using pipe dope at these connections, should I? Anyway, I (more carefully) re-assembled yesterday. So far so good. mmm ETA: If it fails again I’ll look into lowering the height of the outlet ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490/26 "2016-12-26T05:00:48Z")
Participating in this thread must have affected my plumbing mojo. This Christmas morning my son managed to clog the kitchen sink right at the T where the drains for the two sinks come together. I took the plumbing apart to clear the clog – I’ve done it a million times – and the downspout from the main sink snapped off right at the flange that holds it onto the bottom of the sink. The repair is easy and quick, except on CHRISTMAS DAY when every hardware store in the world is closed. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2016, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490/27 "2016-12-26T06:43:10Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Well, either you’ve been lucky, just haven’t taken those kinds of jobs or no one thought to approach you with such a job … > > … > > … 40 + years working in buildings. What is there is there no choice on who to approach. And the only bad leakers in the buildings were installed wrong. Have not had any leakers in my home because I always check after installing. Fill the sink full and if two sinks fill both them open the drain and look for leaks. first home purchased around 1973. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2016, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490/28 "2016-12-27T10:43:24Z")
Update (in case anyone has been on pins and needles) Took the drain apart again. Reassembled with pipe dope applied, was very careful not to cross-thread nor over-tighten. Nary a drop of leakage so far. _knocks heavily on wood_ mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plumbing-question/775490.md?page=1)