Your kitchen sink drain getting blocked is a gradual process. It starts with waiting for a little longer for your kitchen sink to drain. You find yourself in a pool of water in your shower because the water is not draining fast enough. Then, it graduates into the offensive odours. By then, you should be almost sure of an imminent clogged drain situation. The confirmation will be when the drain becomes blocked entirely. Treat a blocked kitchen sink as a plumbing emergency because it may lead to a burst pipe or a non-functional kitchen or bathroom if left unattended.
There are a lot of things that cause a blocked sink drain, but the big question here is, what do you do?
Start with the basics – get rid of accumulated hair and gunk on the drain surface. If this fails, use some liquid drain cleaner. No improvement? Introduce the plunger, the most basic drain unblocking tool. If the plunger still doesn’t do the trick, then it is time to try the 5 DIY hacks listed below:
Tip: These steps will also get rid of drain flies!
1. Pour in some boiling water
This is the easiest hack on this list. Get as much boiling water as possible and pour it down slowly into the drain. Do this in two to three stages, while waiting for several seconds after each pour, so that the hot water can work effectively.
2. Pour in Caustic Soda
First things first – wear your eye protection and rubber gloves because you are about to deal with a nasty chemical, that is, caustic soda. Combine ¾ gallon of cold water and 3 cups of caustic soda into a mop bucket (the water first). Stir properly using an old wooden spoon. Immediately the fizzing starts, and you feel the mixture heating up, transfer it into the clogged sink drain. Wait for about half an hour before flushing the mixture down with boiling water.
You may have to repeat to get a 100% unblocked drain.
3. Introduce a mixture of vinegar and baking soda
Combine 1/3 of a cup of vinegar and 1/3 cup of baking soda in a measuring cup. Immediately the mixture fizzes, pour it into your clogged drain. The fizzing action is the trick – it eliminates the accumulated grime, hair, and gunk in the pipe. Leave for about an hour (or overnight), then flush with hot water. If you do not have a measuring cup, pour down more dry baking soda down the drain, followed by the vinegar, and finally the hot water.
4. Use the drain snake
The drain snake appears very basic but is quite useful. This long, flexible metal rope has a spiral of metal at the end. When used properly a drain snake can remove or dislodge the accumulated dirt or foreign object clogging your drain.
5. Clean your pipe
It is not as difficult as you may think. Start by placing a large empty container underneath your U-shaped pipe – the one under the kitchen sink. This is necessary so that the spill doesn’t mess up everywhere. Locate the slip nuts at either end of the pipe. Loosen them with a plumber’s wrench until the trap is free. Now remove the trap and empty the content into the empty container. Inspect the trap and the pipes to see if any debris is lurking. If there is any tough gunk in it, remove using an old toothbrush or any suitable tool. Lastly, rinse the trap, replace it, and tighten the slip nuts.
Finally, we are confident that these 5 DIY hacks will get the job of unblocking your kitchen sink done fast and easy in most cases. That’s all – you have now cleaned your pipes and unblock your drain! Did we miss any useful hack? Feel free to share in the comments below.
