Kitchen Sink Waste Leak Repair in Exminster

This kitchen sink leak repair in Exminster is a recent job we completed for a homeowner in the village just south of Exeter. Water was steadily collecting in the cupboard under the kitchen sink, and the cause turned out to be old, poorly-fitted waste pipework. We replaced it with new 90-degree bends and a fresh bowl-and-a-half sink waste kit, reconnected the appliance hoses, and left the customer with a clean, tidy, leak-free finish.

The Problem: A Leaking Waste Under the Kitchen Sink

The customer had noticed the base of their sink cupboard was damp and had started to smell. Every time the sink was used, or the washing machine and dishwasher drained, a little more water found its way into the cupboard. Left unchecked, this kind of under sink leak soon damages the cupboard carpentry, the flooring beneath, and can encourage mould.

Step 1: The old waste pipework under the kitchen sink, where the leak was collecting water in the base of the cupboard.

When we arrived we cleared out the cupboard, dried everything down and ran the taps and appliances to trace exactly where the water was escaping. It quickly became clear the problem was the waste pipework itself rather than the tap or the sink bowls.

What Was Causing the Kitchen Waste Pipe Leak

Under this double-bowl sink the original waste had been assembled from a mix of fittings that never sat quite right. Over time the seals had failed and the joints had worked loose, so water was weeping from more than one point rather than a single obvious split.

Common causes of an under sink leak

• Old or perished seals and worn washers in the trap and connectors
• Poorly-fitted or over-tightened compression joints that no longer seal
• Awkward pipe runs forced into tight 90-degree bends that stress the joints
• Blocked or partially collapsed traps causing water to back up and seep out
• Appliance hoses (washing machine or dishwasher) not properly clipped into the waste

Step 2: Stripping out the old waste pipework and the failed trap so we could start again with the correct fittings.

Rather than patch up tired parts one at a time, the sensible fix here was to strip out the lot and rebuild the waste properly with new components sized correctly for the bowl-and-a-half sink and the two appliances feeding into it.

The Repair: New Waste Kit and 90-Degree Bends

We removed the old waste completely and fitted a new bowl-and-a-half sink waste kit, the type designed specifically for a double-bowl kitchen sink. New 90-degree bends were used to route the pipework neatly to the wall waste, keeping the runs tidy and giving each joint a clean, square seat so the seals could do their job.

Step 3: A new 90-degree bend fitted to route the waste neatly to the wall.

Step 4: Assembling the new bowl-and-a-half sink waste kit with fresh seals.

With the new waste in place we reconnected the washing machine and dishwasher appliance hoses to their spigots on the kit, making sure each was properly pushed home and clipped so it could not work loose. We then ran both bowls, filled and drained them, and cycled the appliances to check every joint under load.

Step 5: The washing machine and dishwasher hoses reconnected to the new waste kit.

The finished result

A clean, tidy and completely leak-free waste under the sink. The cupboard could go back into everyday use straight away, with no drips, no damp and no smell. The finished pipework is shown in the photo at the top of this page.