Bath U Bend Refit

[needawin]

Leaking u bend under bath. Unscrewed and cleaned out all grunge, and assorted clips etc. Refitted all but still small leak. Should I apply sealant at the screw connection?

[ELVIS68]

Or PTFE tape

[needawin]

Thanks man. Ah ha huh.

[Mosaic]

Rescrewing this fitting is best done with a helper and two pipe wrenches. Insert the handles of one pipe wrench - or the handles of a pair of pliers - into the plug hole from inside the bath. This needs then to be held by someone, to stop it from rotating as you go down below and firstly unscrew, then apply ptfe as prescribed by Elvis, then rescrew using a pipe wrench to tighten the last turn or so. Beware of over-tightening.
Check again for leaks and if any exist try to work out exactly where they start from. For example, a sealant failure around the overrflow will cause drips to track down and drop under the bath.

[needawin]

Thanks M

[The Builder]

No sealant needed usually. Maybe a couple of turns of Elvis's PTFE tape if the O-rings are in bad shape.

Most leaks are as a result of the pipe/fittings being out of line, and under strain. This often causes the backnuts (screw bits) to go on cross-threaded. You think it's tight, which it is, but it leaks.