Anyone have much experience doing this? Ours in the bathroom sink had been leaking on and off for years, but I kind of put off trying to fix it until recently after a toothbrush dropped in (with the stopper pulled out but that's another matter). So I finally pulled out the pipe wrench and took apart the trap. Also found a glass marble that our kid dropped in. The washers were completely gone and brittle, and obviously needed replacement years ago. The pipes are all chrome-plated brass (or copper?) in good enough condition to reuse, but there's a 1-1/4" nut in front and an 1-1/2" nut in the back. The front was still in good shape - chrome-plated brass, but the rear was completely cracked, corroded, and seemed to be all zinc. It was also a bit oversized on the outside, but not a bit deal.
So I went to Home Depot to see what they had. I figured I just needed a new washer (came only in 3-packs) for the front nut, but I couldn't figure out the rear. Their plumbing guy pointed me to a new 1-1/2" zinc nut with one washer. It seemed smaller than my original (which was huge) but it did eventually fit with no leaks.
Now I'm reading up on these things, and one recommendation was to not use zinc nuts because they're not as strong, they corrode easily, and may be difficult/impossible to remove if they corrode. I couldn't find brass nuts at HD, although I've seen solid brass or chrome-plated brass available elsewhere. Is this worth replacing?
So I went to Home Depot to see what they had. I figured I just needed a new washer (came only in 3-packs) for the front nut, but I couldn't figure out the rear. Their plumbing guy pointed me to a new 1-1/2" zinc nut with one washer. It seemed smaller than my original (which was huge) but it did eventually fit with no leaks.
Now I'm reading up on these things, and one recommendation was to not use zinc nuts because they're not as strong, they corrode easily, and may be difficult/impossible to remove if they corrode. I couldn't find brass nuts at HD, although I've seen solid brass or chrome-plated brass available elsewhere. Is this worth replacing?