The first thing you need to do is to see whether you can remove the bathroom sink stopper by hand. If this is the case, then you will have saved yourself a lot of unnecessary work and stress. To do this, take hold of the stopper with your fingers, and try and turn it.
If you do not feel any give, or if there are no signs of movement (other than spinning on its axis), then your stopper will require more work. Tip: be sure not to pull on the stopper too hard, as this could cause more damage.
If the first step worked for you, then congratulations, you have achieved your goal, and you no longer need to follow this guide. However, if your bathroom sink stopper is still wedged tight, then it’s time to progress to the next step.
This will involve going underneath the sink, and this is where the cleaning will come in handy. Remove anything from underneath the sink, and ensure you have enough room to work and maneuver.
The third step requires your flashlight. Use this to locate the horizontal plunger rod that connects the strap to the stopper itself. Once you have located this, then look for the rod that connects the vertical strap.This shouldn’t be difficult to locate, as it is full of holes and fairly distinctive amongst the other components.
Remove this and keep it somewhere safe for later on, and make sure you take notice of which hole the rod was fitted on. This will make reassembling the whole thing much easier when you have finished, and will avoid any stress and hassle when the time comes.
The other end of the rod will be connected to a pivot nut. This will require unscrewing, and you can use the wrench to assist with this if it has become stuck or too tight. Before you do this though, place the bucket underneath the pipe, just in case there is a back up of water.
You don’t want to have a water damaged bathroom floor, and this is something that can stop a minor task becoming a much more time consuming, stressful, and expensive job. Then begin to loosen the nut, either with your hands or the wrench (whichever it requires).
If you have followed these steps correctly, then you should be able to release and remove the bathroom sink stopper from beneath the sink, and you should be able pull it out without any issues or resistance.
Bear in mind that the stopper underside will probably be dirty and covered in hair, grime, and various pieces of debris. While everything is detached and accessible, this is a perfect time to give the whole thing a clean, remove any detritus, and repair any potential damages that might be present.