Nearly every kitchen sink I’ve encountered has the same problem: pooling water around and behind the tap. Not only is this annoying, but it can damage walls and worktops in the affected area. This was the case with my kitchen sink, but I found an easy fix for less than £10 with a sealant strip hack and splash guard from Amazon.
My kitchen sink sits below my window, which only has a thin section of plaster between the worktop and windowsill that is not waterproofed. Water was splashing and pooling behind the tap, eroding the plaster.
A dark hole was starting to appear, and I needed a quick fix to repair the damage and protect the area from further problems. The area was too small to consider tiling or a splashback idea, but a £6 sealant strip from Amazon came to the rescue.
The damaged area behind the kitchen sink tap
(Image credit: Future / Lindsey Davis)
Repair: sealant strip
To repair the wall, I fitted a self-adhesive sealant strip from Amazon to the damaged area. It only took 10 minutes to fit, the strip cost just £6, and 6 months later it’s still showing no signs of movement.
Image 1 of 2
The trick to making it last so long was in prepping the area before applying it. I cleaned the damaged area and let it dry out fully before cutting the tape to size with scissors.
This sealant strip is made for baths and kitchens, so it has a neat bend along the middle, meaning you can easily stick it to the work surface and wall behind to fully seal the area. It is discreet and fits neatly in with my kitchen sink ideas.
Protect: tap splash guard
While the small section of wall behind the tap was fixed, I didn’t want to repeat the repair process again in a few months’ time, so I invested in a £4 tap splash guard on Amazon to protect the area.
It has a slit in the back and tiered seal that means it fits around any tap, and can be trimmed to size. It stops the water from pooling around the tap with little grooves that channel water back into the sink.
The splashguard fitted around the tap
(Image credit: Future / Lindsey)
The splash guard has done the job, but it can get quite dirty, coming into contact with so much water and limescale. But I’ve got around that by adding it to my kitchen cleaning routine, soaking it in a bowl of warm water with some vinegar to freshen it up.
I did take a risk on my tap splash garden as it had some really bad Amazon ratings with people struggling to make it fit their tap. While it worked for me, I asked around the office and found that our Deputy Digital Editor, Rebecca Knight, who had a similar sink pooling problem, had opted for a Diatomite water absorbent stone from Amazon instead.
‘I was struggling with water from the sink flooding along the back of my kitchen worktop. I tried a splash guard, but it didn’t work with my sink configuration,’ she explains. ‘I didn’t have a wide enough ledge behind the sink to support the splash guard.’
‘Instead, I placed an absorbent stone on either side of the sink to soak up the water, and disguised them as trays for my washing-up soap and handwash.’
Add to basket
Jastown Faucet Sink Splash Guard
Self Adhesive Caulk Strip Sealant Tape
Water Absorbent Stone for Sink
Since implementing my £10 fix 6 months ago, I’ve not had any further damage or issues with pooling water.
If you’ve had a similar problem, are there any other fixes you’ve used that worked?