how to fix* a leaky sink. (pt. 1)

Our kitchen sink has been leaking. I think it has had issues since I moved in three and a half years ago. It's a double sink, and if you use the right side (especially filling it with water), the pipes below seem to leak and everything under the sink gets wet. Nate cleaned up a wet mess today so I took photos of the pipes and went to Home Depot for replacement parts.

Can we talk about Home Depot for a second? OK, I want to know what percentage of customers walk in there knowing what they are looking for and what percent of those people are professional handypersons. Because my guess is that at least 75% of people in Home Depot go there because they need something specific. Maybe they don't know exactly which product, but they have a project in mind. And most of those people are probably DIY-ers. So I'm sure I've said this before, but I'll say it a hundred more times: Customers in Home Depot need help. Basically a personal assistant. They ought to have a team of employees lined up at the door to match up one-on-one with customers unless a customer says, "I don't need help." Because unless they say, "I don't need help," then they need help.

Trader Joe's has an interesting strategy; they actually have someone walking around the store carrying a tall pole with a big question mark on top so you know exactly whom to ask for help. In Home Depot, I'm lucky if I find the right aisle on my own, but once I've found the wall of plumbing parts, I really need help find the exact pieces I need. And I come prepared. I had photos on my phone of the PVC piece I wanted to replace. If only I didn't have to wander so long to find an employee to help me. They need call buttons at the end of each aisle that you can just push. Finally, I wandered and an employee quickly rushed by me, not even a "Are you finding everything ok?" So I quickly made eye contact and said, "I need help!"

So with less than $10 of parts in hand, I went home to fix the sink.

The old piece. Kind of gross. Water was running down and dripping off the horizontal pipe.
We assumed the problem was at one of the connectors. One had a pretty warped plastic washer.

New parts. Less than $10.

Took out the old pipe and cleaned up the remaining pieces.

Assembled the new parts and tightened them in place by hand.
Easy, no tools needed.

Finally, the TEST! I plugged the sink and filled it with water … and it leaked.
But now I've discovered the true source of the leak. And it is that top black and silver piece.

We need to replace the sink strainer. Doesn't look like it will be difficult; just another trip to Home Depot. And I saw them yesterday, so I actually know where to find them. That will be "How to Fix a Leaky Sink" (Pt. 2).

To be continued …

title note—*fix … unsuccessfully this time