The time my dad told me to just use a hammer on the PVC pipe

I was trying to fix a leaky drain under the kitchen sink last spring, and my dad watched me struggle for 20 minutes before saying 'just give it a good whack with the hammer, it'll seat better.' I swung once and the pipe cracked clean in half, spraying gray water all over the cabinets. Has anyone else had a relative give advice that seemed genius until you actually tried it?

2 comments

2 Comments

torres.drew12d ago

Wait hold up, that gray plastic stuff is actually more brittle? I had no idea there were different kinds of PVC like that. So basically my dad's advice would've worked fine on the white pipe but I had the crappy version they use for sinks? That explains a lot honestly. I just assumed all PVC was basically the same, but now I feel like I should google stuff before taking a hammer to it next time.

cameron_chen6312d ago

My dad was a plumber for 30 years and he would've said the same thing, but here's the thing - you gotta know where to hit it. A sharp tap right on the joint where it connects can actually help seat it, but a full swing anywhere else is just asking for a crack. Sounds like your dad was picturing a metal pipe where that works fine, not the thin plastic stuff they use now. I've seen guys use a hammer to nudge PVC into place on purpose, but it's more like a light bump than a real whack. The real mistake was the sink drain being gray plastic - that stuff is way more brittle than white schedule 40. So your dad's idea had some truth to it, but the pipe material and the force you used made it a disaster.