It all started when we lost our universal sink plug in a country where outdoor shops weren’t really a thing. Our plug was SO handy at campsites, hotels, or when we were being hosted and couldn’t find our hosts plug. We were washing our dishes and clothes in sinks worldwide, and if there is a bath going, we’d take one of those too.

After seeing pictures of universal sink plugs on the internet that looked like big, flat rubber discs, we thought we could find the materials to make our own. We found a glass container with a lid, leaving the glass bit behind. Our first plug-made-from-a-plastic-lid worked! We later realised that there are actually suitable containers for plug manufacturing available everywhere in supermarkets… especially in the dairy section.

Make your own sink plug

1. Eat a tub of yoghurt. The lid needs to be large in diameter and the plastic needs to be thin. The plug next to the lid is a standard plug for comparison.

2. Cut off the plastic rim on the lid. We want this lid to be as flat as possible.

3. Cut, cut, cut… all the way around.

4. Once you have made the full 360, trim around the edges to take out any impurities from your cut job.

5. You will now have a big plastic disc ready for action.

Does it work?

Hmm… lets find out!

You will need to hold the plug down for a few seconds until the water weight carries out that task for you.

A perfect job.

If you can, we still suggest that you use a rubber universal sink plug (like the one pictured in step 5) for just one reason: it seals sinks better. Especially during clothes washing when you’re likely to bump the plug a lot. We still carry two plugs – just in case our small plug doesn’t fit a hole, or if we need to both wash our clothes at once.

If you’re plug-less because you left your plug behind, or in a location with no universal sink plugs available – our homemade plug will plug your hole. 🙂