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What Can I Use To Unclog My Kitchen Sink?

A kitchen sink can get clogged and this can become a very annoying problem that can severely disrupt your daily routine of working in the kitchen.

If it happens at frequent intervals it means that the sink and all its drainage connections have been blocked by some of the materials that you have disposed of through the sink that should have ideally been thrown in the garbage.

This will be mainly food particles that are leftover from meals or during your cooking process.

A clogged drain will ultimately start smelling, even when it works intermittently or slowly, as most clogged sinks will.

This then makes the problem all the more acute and embarrassing. Just imagine someone walking into your kitchen when you are busy, and wrinkling up their noses.

Fortunately, besides calling the plumber, there are many simple ways to clear up this clogged sink, and having it working as it should.

Pour Boiling Water Down The Plug Hole

Start with the simplest method of putting a pot of water to boil on the stove. You will require at least half a gallon of water for this.

Remove any water that is standing in the sink. You may have to do this manually as your sink is clogged, and you will need an empty bucket for this.

Now remove the boiled water from the stove, and pour it steadily into the drain on the sink. The sink should begin to drain.

If this does not happen, or the drainage is still slow, let the water cool, remove it, while you put on a fresh pot of water to boil.

Repeat until your drain starts working as it should. This method must not be used if the sink is drained through PVC pipes as the boiling water can damage the pipes.

You can always add salt or professional drain unblocking granules to the sink and let it go down the drain before you pour the boiling water.

Baking Soda And Vinegar

A combination of baking soda and salt, or baking soda and vinegar can also act to remove the clogged material from your drain pipes.

A cup of baking soda with half a cup of salt or a cup of baking soda with an equal amount of vinegar should work.

Allow the mixture of either of these substances remains in the sink for some time. Baking soda and salt may need to be allowed to do their work for a couple of hours, so do this overnight.

Vinegar and baking soda will take at least half an hour to work. You then pour in boiling water and hope that your kitchen sink gets unclogged. Repeat the process till you are satisfied.

Unclog Kitchen Sink With A Plunger

A plunger is a device that will be available in most home stores and is an item that you need to have in your home.

It consists of a rubber cup that is fixed on a wooden handle.

Remove most of the water in the clogged sink and allow some to remain. It should be enough to submerge the head of the plunger.

Place the rubber cup of the plunger over the sink drain hole and press it up and down to create some air vacuum. This should loosen the clogged material, and you will need to let water flow into the sink to remove this.

Plumbing Snake

You can also get a plumbing snake from the home depot, and some of them may even allow you to hire one for use.

This is an auger that has a long cable attached to it and has a crank at the upper end that can be operated to turn the auger. Let the auger into the drain hole (it will be small enough to allow this) till it reaches the portion of the drain that is clogged.

Use the crank to turn the auger till it breaks through and allows more of the cable of the snake to go through.

Turn on the tap and clear the dislodged material. If it does not meet any material, then the clog occurs further in the drain system.

Unscrew The P-Trap

Most sinks have P traps that are supposed to trap solid material and prevent them from going into the drain.

It is also possible to unscrew a cap at the bottom or side of these P traps and use this bigger opening to unclog your sink.

Remove any debris from this opening if you can spot any. Place the cap on again and run water to see if this has removed the clogged material.

Conclusion

You can prevent the drain of your kitchen sink from getting clogged by ensuring that no solid food waste is ever allowed to get into it.

You can get simple filters that sit on the drain hole that can help you to prevent the food from getting in. You will have to clean these filters daily after you finish your work for the day so that they continue to work as they should.

Always pour in some hot water into the sink after you have finished your work for the day, as this will help to clear up anything that you have inadvertently allowed to get into the drain.