"Overflow" style pop-up drain on sink w/o overflow?

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mc510

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My new cultured marble vanity top/sink does not have an overflow hole, but the pop-up drain that comes with my faucet does have holes for a sink overflow channel. I started off thinking that I'd need to discard the pop-up and buy a non-overflow type, but what if I use it? Some drain water will splash out the overflow holes and accumulate above the drain's lower (under-sink) seal. Sounds gross, but this same thing must happen when the pop-up is installed on a sink with an overflow channel, right?
 

Tuttles Revenge

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Some sinks that don't have overflows can't use a pop up assembly with an overflow because the depth from the inside of the sink to the bottom where the rubber and nut tighten isn't tall enough to cover the hole.. so basically there arent enough threads to get the nut that high. If the depth of the material is enough to seal with that pop up, then there is no downside to using what you have.
 

mc510

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I think I understand what you're saying, and my sink is at least three inches thick at the bottom so the pop-up drain's overflow hole is definitely going to be sealed between the upper and lower surfaces of the sink. It still seems a little gross to be letting dirty water accumulate on top of the lower seal, but am I correct in picturing that this is what happens even if the same overflow-enabled drain is used with a sink that does have an overflow?
 

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Correct.. An overflow enabled sink will have an accumulation of grossness that sometimes needs cleaning out.. I've had one sink that had a foul odor from the overflow.. i believe a mix of vinegar and baking soda cured that.
 

Kreemoweet

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It still seems a little gross ...

Umm, I guess you haven't taken apart many lavatory sinks after they've been in use a few years? They are ALL gross, black and green slime
just about everywhere. Take a look
in the overflow channels too, if any, while you're at it. Not so easy to clean all that muck out, is it? People like to create images of white, immaculate, un-gross
plumbing fixtures in their heads, but it is all a fantasy, at least with any ordinary level of cleaning effort.
 
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