• Leaks in the plumbing of a kitchen sink may require occasional repairs. Leaks can appear at the pipe joints and the slip nuts that hold the trap in place. The six most common tools used for repairs are slip joint pliers, a flat-head screw driver, pipe thread compound, a hack saw, a pocket knife and short-handled pliers.
  
  

Slip Joint Pliers

• When you are tightening the slip nut that forms a joint of two pipes in the kitchen sink drain trap you can use slip joint pliers. These appear like a standard pair of pliers but have three or more joints to slip one of the pliers handles into so that they adjust to a larger size. When you reach the desired size, you squeeze both handles together to grip the slip nut and turn it clockwise to tighten the nut. You can use slip joint pliers for tightening both the top and bottom nuts that hold the PVC trap in place when you are replacing this part.
  
  

Flat-head Screw Driver

• Some kitchen sinks use a flexible metal hose to form the trap. These attach to the PVC pipes with an adjustable metal band. The band adjusts by turning a screw with a flat-head screwdriver clockwise to tighten and counter clockwise to loosen.
  
  

Pipe Thread Compound

• Older kitchen sink drains contain metal pipes instead of PVC pipes. Unlike the joints on PVC pipes, metal pipes are meant to be sealed permanently and not removed for adjustments or cleaning. Metal pipe fittings require a coat of pipe thread compound before re-connecting so that it seals properly.
  
  

Hack Saw

• If you need to replace PVC pipe that has split from extremely cold conditions, age, or because you are moving the drain line you will need a hack saw to cut the new PVC pipe to the correct size for replacement. A hack saw cuts slowly and has medium size teeth so that it provides a clean and straight cut on PVC. In addition, this type of saw does not crack the material.
  
  

Pocket Knife

• A pocket knife works well to scrape off the excess burrs of a PVC pipe, which usually form on the pipe after cutting it. Scraping the pocket knife across the burrs will remove them so that the pipe has a smooth surface to fit into the slip nuts. Sandpaper will also have the same effect. Simply sand off the pipe's burrs.
  
  

Short-handled Pliers

• Short-handled pliers work best for the small space behind the kitchen sink bowl underneath the cabinet. You may need to use short-handled pliers for this application because of the limited space available to work.