Fixing A Leaky Sink

Getting anything done in Africa can take a long time.  This is the story of my leaky bathroom sink, and how I got it fixed.  I hope you enjoy the story and get a sense of life here in Uganda.

Our downstairs bathroom sink leaked.  Two drainage pipes under the sink were not connected well, so any water going down the drain would end up on the floor.  It should be an easy fix. 

Attempt #1  Landlady Sends a Plumber

The landlady agreed to have the leak fixed at her expense.  She sent her plumber, Mishak, who thought the pipes could be sealed with silicone.  So, Mishak and I visited three local hardware shops (large kiosks really).  None had any silicone.

Attempt #2  Thread Tape

Mishak thought the leak could be fixed with Teflon tape (called thread tape here).  Thread tape is inexpensive and light, so it is about the only thing a Ugandan plumber will bring with him to your house. Mishak joined the pipes with about two meters of tape.  It worked!  No leak.  I thanked Mishak and sent him on his way.

I considered his fix as temporary and slapdash.  From my perspective, pipes should be sealed with something more permanent like PVC cement or silicone.  A permanent fix would be at my expense.

Attempt #3.  Search for a Permanent Fix

I bought a silicone tube from a reputable chain store.  It cost me about $10, an outrageous price, but chain stores don’t normally sell cheap counterfeit products.  The silicone came out of the tube looking and smelling odd, but it seemed to work.  And it did work...for about two days.  The silicone I had bought was old and had probably been sitting in a hot warehouse for a year.  I had spent $10 on junk.

Attempt #4.  Another Tube of Silicone

I bought a tube of silicone from a different chain store (also for about $10).  This time the silicone looked and smelled normal.  After about two days of letting the silicone dry, I tested the sink.  Success!  No leak.

But a few days later, someone bumped the sink's pedestal.  That, in turn, pushed against the drainage pipe and broke the silicone seal.  The leak was back.

Attempt #5.  Joel the Plumber, Day 1

I called Joel, a professional plumber who had done some other work for me.  I told him that I wanted a permanent fix and not a quick fix with thread tape.  I gave Joel some cash, and he returned the next day with some replacement parts.  However, some of the parts were the wrong size.

Attempt #6.  Joel the Plumber, Day 2

Joel arrived the next day with correct parts.   But now there was another problem.  The pieces would not fit together because the drainage pipe in the wall was cemented at an upward angle (not 90 degrees like it should have).  One of the Joel’s new plastic pipes needed to be bent in order to make the connection.  I asked Joel how this is done.

Joel answered, "Put sand in the pipe and heat it."

I should have asked him exactly how.  A few minutes later I passed by the bathroom.  Joel was on the bathroom floor heating the plastic pipe with a small fire.  Smoke began to fill the house.  I quickly closed the doors so Lily and the kids would not smell it.

The fire, however, was too small to bend the plastic.  So, he lit a second, larger fire in my bathroom.  Again, it was too small to bend the plastic.

At Joel's suggestion, we moved to the kitchen and he heated the plastic pipe on the stove’s gas burner.  I wished he had thought of it earlier.

He bent the plastic pipe and with minimal smoke.  Joel then glued the pipes together with some PVC cement.  We tested his work.  Success!  No leak.

 

And that is how I got my leaky bathroom sink fixed:  Six attempts, two plumbers, two small fires, and a house full of smoke.  This is Africa.

From Kampala,

John H. Eastham

New Missionary to Uganda