the leak under my sink is due to the wastepipes which are very short, it comes down from the sink about 4 inches and then an elbow turn upwards and then across and turn again to the long pipe to the drain and everytime a bowl of water empties it starts to leak. The long pipe to the drain is not near the sink but further over about 6-7 inches

Annie, January 2009

Empty the sink and carefully examine the pipes for the leaky joint.

Take it all apart - clean the trap in a bucket (don't use the sink!) and put it all back together again. One of the pipes has probably been knocked and is causing the leak.

The fittings are easy to take apart by hand. A damp cloth helps with the undoing and doiing up.

Put an old towel down to catch any spilt water.

If any pieces are too bad to reuse new fittings are quite cheap at a DIY/Hardware store.

Peccavi, January 2009