4 Tips for Unclogging Your Kitchen Drain

7 January 2016
 Categories: , Blog


One of the things that can happen most often in a home's plumbing system is to have a clogged drain. Unfortunately, it tends to occur frequently in a kitchen since you use that plumbing fixture the most. Here are some tips for unclogging your kitchen drain.

Use a Plunger First

Believe it or not, many people don't even try to plunge a kitchen sink when the drain is moving slowly. If you only think a plunger is for clearing toilets, you might discover a simple clog can be fixed with a plunger. If your sink seems clogged or the water is draining slowly, get your plunger and push it down a few times into the drain. If the problem is small, this should be enough force to push the obstruction through the drain and fix the problem. This only works for the smallest obstructions, but if you're lucky, this will be all you need.

Try Natural Methods

If you don't want to use harsh chemicals to clear the debris from the drain, you can try using natural methods first. Baking soda, vinegar and hot water is all you should need. Start by pouring some baking soda into the drain. If the water is to the top of the drain, remove as much water as you can, then pour some baking soda in. At this point, you can either pour a pot of boiling water on top of it, or first pour some vinegar and let the two ingredients work their magic on the oil or food debris. After several minutes, pour the boiling water on top until they move down the drain.

Clean Out the Trap

If the other methods of clearing the clog in your kitchen sink don't work, you might need to manually remove the obstruction by removing the trap. Look underneath your kitchen sink and find the trap, which is a curved pipe that holds water. When food debris goes down the drain and is too large to fit through the trap, it sits right in this area without being able to move. To empty it, grab a bucket and place it underneath the trap.

Now use a plumbing wrench to loosen the trap from the two pipes it is connected to. Dump it directly into the bucket, letting other water and debris spill into the bucket as well. Rinse the inside of it to be sure it is clear. Also check the other pipes to see if they also contain obstructions you can clear.

Call a Plumber

If you still can't figure out where the obstruction is coming from, it is time to cal a plumber. Not only can they go deeper into the pipes with a professional-grade auger tool, but they can also check to see if the problem is coming from elsewhere. It is possible that another plumbing fixture is causing the issue or that it is a clog with the main sewer line.

For more tips, call a local plumbing service


Share