The vessel sink faces two problems, the sinks do not have an overflow built into the sink and they are usually installed with a grid drain. In a sense venting causes the slow draining, but your plumbing can be vented correctly and still have the problem. Venting in plumbing is installed on the drain side of the trap and its function is to protect the trap seal from positive and negative pressures that can be generated in the drainage system. These pressures could cause the water in the trap to get sucked out of the trap and allow sewer gases to enter your home. In addition to the odors these sewer gases can cause diseases and were traced to causing an outbreak of SARS in china, in 2003.

The venting problem in a vessel sink is caused by air entrapped between the grid strainer and the water in the trap. This entrapped air blocks the flow of water down the drain slowing the flow of water leaving the sink. Often if you look down into a grid strainer drain you can see the air bubble moving around under the holes of the grid strainer, with the air trapped or, held down by the water on top of and coming through the holes in the grid strainer. The problem is this entrapped air is on the wrong side of the trap for a vent to have any effect allowing it to escape. In a sink with an overflow built into the sink, the air trapped under the sink drain can escape through the overflow allowing the sink to drain. The vessel sink without an overflow is doomed by design.

The best remedy is to avoid using a grid strainer type drain, instead opting for a lift and turn pop-up style drain. While you still may get air entrapped in the drain the problem will be greatly reduced and you probably will not end up with large amounts of water in the sink slowly draining. If you are going to keep the grid strainer drain you may be able to get better drainage by carefully drilling out the holes in the grid as large as possible without destroying the grid strainer. The larger holes may allow some of the air to escape faster before being blocked by the water on top and will allow more water to flow through the larger holes allowing better drainage from the sink. These are really the only two options that will work.

I have seen people go through great lengths attempting to solve this problem including adding Air Admittance Valves (AAV’s) also known as cheater vents on the drainpipes under the sink. This is not a solution because AAV’s are one-way valves, only allowing air to flow in, and not out. Don’t waste your time on this thinking it will solve your problem. Using a grid strainer on a sink drain that does not have an overflow is just a bad design. Some of the worst ideas in plumbing survive by being fashionable.

A toilet is in most cases sealed to the closet flange on the waste pipe with a wax ring. The wax ring is the weakest joint in the entire drainage system but when properly set the joint will have no problems. The wax seal is designed to be crushed creating a seal between the outlet on the bottom of the toilet and the closet flange. Once the wax ring is crushed making the seal, the toilet must not move or, rock because the wax ring is not resilient and is designed for a one time crushing action to create the seal. Even if a toilet is not leaking water, if the toilet is moving the wax seal is compromised and can be leaking sewer gases into your home. Sewer gases leaking into a home can be dangerous and unhealthy, in fact a 2003 outbreak of SARS in China was traced to sewer gases leaking into a hotel. In most cases a toilet that is rigidly mounted to the floor and not moving will not have a leakage problem unless the toilet drain line gets clogged and is aggressively plunged causing the wax ring to blow out. If a toilet leaks water around the base after plunging a new wax ring and resetting is needed.

To reset a toilet you will need a few basic tools and supplies to accomplish the job.

The tools you will need are:

• channel Lock Pliers
• Small Adjustable Wrench
• Close Quarter Saw or, Compact Hacksaw
• Putty Knife
• Caulking Gun and Latex Caulk (Matching color may be desired)
• Small Tray To Catch Water
• Spray Cleaner and Cotton Rags
• latex or, Nitrile Gloves (several pairs will be needed)
• Large Absorbent Sponge and Bucket or, Wet Vac

The supplies you will need are:

• Wax Ring (In most cases get the wax ring that does not have the black plastic horn built into the ring)
• 5/16” Brass Closet Bolts (Do not get closet bolts that have grooves to break off the extra bolt length)
• Braided Stainless Steel Closet Supply (In most cases 3/8” compression X 7/8” ballcock X the length you need available in 9”, 12”, and 16” lengths. Do not get the Watts “Floodsafe” supply lines! Get a length where they can be installed without kinking, too long with a large loop is better than too short and strained or, a small loop that kinks.)
• Latex Caulk (Do not use Silicone RTV Caulk! My personal preferences are Phenoseal or, Polyseamseal. Matching colors may be desired)
• Shims (Many manufacturers offer plastic wedges for shimming toilets to floors that are not level.)
• Toilet Bolt Caps (If the present caps are missing or broken)

The first step to resetting the toilet is to shut off the water to the toilet at the angle stop valve located below the toilet tank on the left side. Once the water is shut off remove the tank lid and set it on the floor out of the way, flush the toilet and hold the lever down allowing as much of the water as possible to drain from the tank. Put on your gloves then use the sponge and bucket or, wet vac to remove the rest of the water from the tank the also remove the water from the bowl. Place the small tray under the angle stop valve to catch a small amount of water that will spill, and use the small adjustable wrench to remove the closet supply from the angle stop valve and use the channel lock pliers to remove the supply line from the fill valve shank on the bottom outside of the toilet tank. Next use the small adjustable wrench to take off the nuts on the closet bolts securing the toilet to the floor. If toilet bolt caps cover the closet bolts, slipping the putty knife under them usually pops the caps right off without damaging them. Once the nuts and washers have been removed you are ready to lift the toilet off the floor. If the toilet was caulked with Silicone RTV Caulk make sure to cut the caulk between the toilet and floor or, you may damage the floor. Grab the toilet by the bowl and rock it from side to side breaking it loose from the floor and wax ring. Straddling the toilet lift the toilet straight up off the bolts then carry it aside and place it on the floor on top of a rag rolling the toilet onto its side. Take the putty knife and clean any wax remaining stuck to the toilet bottom off the toilet. Next clean the wax remaining on the closet flange off with the putty knife, and remove the old closet bolts, and use the spray cleaner and cotton rags to clean the floor under where the toilet set. Once the wax has been removed and the floor cleaned inspect the closet flange for defects. The flange should be mounted on top of the finished floor and be secured in place to the floor with screws so it doesn’t move. Any problems with the flange should be repaired before resetting the toilet or, the resetting will not be successful and you will have the leak return.

You are now ready to start resetting the toilet. Place the new closet bolts into the slots on the flange and secure them in place centered on each side of the flange. Place the new wax ring on the flange centered around the drain and lightly press down on it sticking the wax ring in place. With the dirty work complete you are now ready to put on a new pair of gloves. Take the new braided stainless steel supply line and using the small adjustable wrench secure it in place onto the angle stop valve. Turn the toilet upright again and straddle carry the toilet over close to where it belongs setting it down in front of the flange and new wax seal. Get into a comfortable position where you can lift it into place while looking from side to side at the base to see where the bolt holes are in relation to the bolts sticking up and stain marks on the floor from where the toilet was set before. Lift the toilet and carry it forward over the flange carefully lowering it into place with the bolts centered in the toilet boltholes and the base of the toilet covering the stain from the previous installation. Press down on the toilet with the force directly over the bolts compressing the wax ring. Place the bottom part of the bolt cap over the bolt making sure the right side is facing up. Place the metal washer on top of the bottom part of the bolt cap then the nut and finger tighten on both sides. Using the small adjustable wrench tighten the closet bolts evenly on each side until the toilet is held securely down to the floor unable to move. Next place the shims as needed under the toilet to prevent rocking of the toilet trimming the wedges flush with the base of the toilet. Using the saw trim off the bolts flush with the top of the bolts than snap the bolt cover in place over the bolts. Connect the closet supply to the shank of the fill valve and turn on the water checking the toilet for proper operation and any leaks. Place the toilet tank lid back in place. Finally take the caulk gun and run a bead of caulk around the base of the toilet smoothing the caulk with a wet finger. Allow the caulk to dry for 24 hours before wet mopping the floor to avoid damaging the caulk, but the toilet may be used immediately. Clean up the mess and the tools you have just reset a toilet.

The P-trap is a “U” or “J” shaped bend that holds water in that shaped section providing a liquid seal between you and those sewer gases. When water goes down the drain the excess water is water over the dam so to speak allowing the drain water to enter the sewer system without the seal ever breaking.

In the past less effective methods were used to provide the seal. Those methods included bell traps, s-traps, drum traps, and a few others. These all had limitations in the sense that they either failed to provide good reliable drainage, were difficult to clean, or, were subject to the trap siphoning due to not being vented properly because of the design. In 2003 an outbreak of SARS in China was traced to ineffective traps.

A common mistake by DIY’ers is to not install the drain pipes under the sink

properly, or,  to remodel a kitchen installing a deeper sink and garbage disposer without paying attention to the height of the drain in the wall. This results in the trap being installed in a manner that alters the depth of the water seal on the trap. This results in poor drainage, odors, and possible early failure of the disposer. The depth of the water in the trap is a set depth and must not be altered..

Today’s p-trap properly installed and vented is very reliable at draining and provides excellent sealing. There are rules at to how it is installed and vented. Generally the wall arm coming out of the trap is horizontal with a pitch of 1/4″ per foot minimum downward into the wall. Once inside the wall it can either turn down into a vertical drain or continue on a pitched horizontal run. However in any case it must have a vent before the drain turns downward. There are also limitations of the total developed length of the horizontal run before having a vent. Consult your local code so your installation will meet the code in your area. Failure to properly vent the p-trap can cause siphonage of the water out of the trap allowing sewer gases to enter your home.

When your sink becomes clogged it is a good idea if you can remove the trap and inspect it and the pipes from the sink drain to the wall to see if the blockage is in any of those pipes. Use a bucket under the trap to catch any water remaining in the sink and drain pipes to keep the mess under control. If the  blockage is not in those pipes but into the wall you would probably be best served by calling a plumber to clean the drain line.