How to Remove a Gooseneck Pipe on a Bathroom Sink

Objects can get stuck in the gooseneck pipe beneath your sink.

The sink drain is designed to prevent objects from going into the house drain pipe if you accidentally drop something in the sink. The gooseneck pipe under the sink is the sink trap. Many sink traps have a plug to clean out the trap and retrieve the fallen object. Other sink traps do not have this plug and require removal to retrieve objects or clean the trap. Removing a gooseneck pipe, or sink trap, requires preventing the water that remains in the pipe from spilling.

Things You'll Need

• Bucket
• Pipe wrench

Instructions

1. Position a bucket under the gooseneck pipe of the bathroom sink. There is water in the bottom of the pipe and the bucket is necessary to catch most of the water as you disconnect the pipe.

2. Place a pipe wrench around the nut securing the top of the sink trap pipe to the straight pipe coming from the sink. Turn the nut counterclockwise with the pipe wrench. Once the nut is loose, unthread it completely from the sink trap by hand.

3. Hold the pipe coming from the wall and loosen the securing nut between the sink trap and the wall pipe with the wrench. Unthread the nut by hand and pull the sink trap away from the house and sink pipes.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove any residual plumbing tape from the pipe threads and wrap new tape around them before reinstalling the sink trap. This helps prevent leaks.

References

• Home Depot: Unclogging a Sink Drain Trap
• Ron Hazelton: How to Replace a Bathroom Sink
• This Old House; Clear Any Clogged Drain; Merle Henkenius