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Everything You Need to Know about Drain Flanges

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Melbourne Plumber

Drain flanges are like quiet little supporting actors in the daily functioning of your home or business’ main water system fixtures.  They play an integral role in preventing leaks around drains because a flange is just a flat rim that acts as a strengthener or seal in between the drain and the fixture.  Let’s take a further look at some of the drain flanges in your home.

The Sink Drain Flange

If you go look in your kitchen sink you will notice that around your drain basket is a seam.  That seam means you can remove the drain basket that will reveal a flange.  Over time, flanges deteriorate.  They become gunked up with food debris and lose their ability to form an integral seal.  This means you will begin to see water damage underneath the sink inside your cabinetry.  This causes costly water damage if not replaced quickly. 

Flanges are inexpensive and easy to replace.  Sometimes, they can be a bit difficult to remove as the gunk and grime can act like a glue to the drain pipe below.  Simply adding a lubricant to the bottom on the underside of the sink and letting it sit for the recommended amount of time on the lubricant bottle should do the trick.

The Toilet Flange

There is a flange in the toilet also called a closet flange.  It is actually on the underside of the base of the toilet where the toilet sits on the floor and connects to the drain pipe.  You will know if your toilet flange is going bad if you have a wobbly toilet.  Does it shift when you sit or stand back up?  Or it could begin leaking around the base of the toilet.

Replacing a toilet flange is a little more complicated than replacing a sink drain flange, but if you are comfortable removing and reinstalling your toilet, this is a job you can do on your own.  If not, it is a common fix for plumbers and can have you flushing confidently very shortly.

Bathroom Flanges

In your bathroom tubs or showers are also drain flanges, not to be confused with the rubber gaskets.  They too may need to be replaced over time, but it is most likely to be the rubber gaskets in the bathtub drains that deteriorate and cause water to leak through when the drain is closed.

If you ever need help identifying a plumbing problem in your home or business, your local plumber can help you troubleshoot and resolve your concerns.