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Best ways to unclog a badly clogged sink.
A stubborn sink is arguably one of the most frustrating home problems. A badly clogged sink doesn’t perform its job rightly. Although using a plunger to unclog the sink is one of the easiest methods. However, sometimes this also doesn’t work to unclog a badly clogged sink. During that time, it becomes important to know other resources to help you tackle the problem.
How to unclog a badly clogged sink?
Do you want to know how to unclog your badly clogged sink? Here we have gathered some useful resources that you must consider in this regard.
So, here we go:
Check your garbage disposal
Do you have a garbage disposal with your sink? Then this can be the cause of your drainage problems. If your garbage disposal is causing the clog, simply turn it on to break up your blockage. Dysfunctional and overheated disposal sometimes stops functioning. However, you can easily reactivate the system by turning the restart switch on.
The switch is typically located at the bottom or side of the disposal. Activating this can offer you an easy reboot. Once the disposal has rebooted, turn it on to clear your sink’s clog.
If it is causing a humming sound, then there is a problem at your disposal. So, before doing anything, you should consider fixing the disposal first. However, if your garage disposal is working fine but the sink is still clogged, simply consider any other unclogging method we have enlisted below.
Give boiling water a try.
When soap residue, hair, grease, and other elements are stuck in your drain. Then you should use boiling water to loosen these blocking elements. This simplest fix should be your priority to unclog any badly clogged sink.
Most importantly, the process of using boiling water is simplest. You just need to bring about a half-gallon of water to boil. Now pour this boiling hot water into your open drain directly. Turn on your sink faucet to ensure that the water is draining rightly. If the problem still exists, repeat the process 2 to 3 times consecutively.
Important information:
Avoid boiling water to unclog a sink if your drain is attached to a PVC pipe. It is because boiling water can damage or melt pipes.
Clean the p-trap
P-trap is a nook in our piping system. The key function of this p-trap is to collect water and block the seeping up of sewer gas to the drain. However, this p-trap can also collect debris over time. Due to this, it becomes imperative to clean your p-trap regularly.
Now is the time if you haven’t cleaned your p-trap for a while. Cleaning this component can also help in unclogging your sink. Here are the key steps you should follow in cleaning a p-trap:
- Clear the area under your clogged sink. Now place a container under your sink’s trap to collect running water.
- Typically, two connecting nuts connect the p-trap to the overflow pipe or drainage pipe. You need to lose these nuts to remove the p-trap.
- Use a bottle brush or rag to scrub all the blockage away from the traps inside.
- Once you have cleaned the entire debris accumulation from the p-trap, now reassemble the pipes.
Ensure that all the pipes are connected tightly and appropriately. Now run your faucet for at least 30 seconds to observe any leakage.
Use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar.
If you don’t want to use a chemical-based unclogging material in your sink, you can simply try the mixture of baking soda and vinegar. Put half a cup of baking soda into your drain. Now add vinegar in an equal amount. When baking soda mixes with vinegar, the resulting reaction can break down the fast accumulation in your sink. This mixture will also wash the greasy residues down the drain. Let the mixture there for fifteen minutes. Then flush the drain using clean water.
A saltwater mixture can also help.
Here we have another quick and easy method to unclog your badly clogged sink. The process takes less effort and can help you fix the clogged sink problem effectively. Simply get the salt out of your kitchen cabinet. Take one gallon of water and mix half a cup of salt. Bring this saltwater mixture near to boil.
Pour the mixture down your sink drain when it is still hot. Let it be there for 15 minutes. Then use clear water to flush your drain. This quick fix can sometimes work efficiently to unclog a badly clogged sink.
Try plumber’s snake
You should consider performing this process if you are a bit more confident about your DIY plumbing capabilities. A plumber’s snake is a metal cable with a handle and an uncoiled spring on the other.
This plumber’s snake can wind through your plumbing pipes to break the clogs physically.
- You should place a container to collect water under your clogged sink’s pipes to perform this. This container can help to catch any runoff. To make snaking easier, you can also consider removing the p-trap.
- However, if you don’t want to remove your p-trap, simply insert the spring at one end of the snake into the drain.
- Rotate the handle steadily to uncoil the snake. When you start feeling resistance, you have reached the clogged area.
- Now move your snake’s handle up and down to break up this clog.
Once the clog has broken, pull the snake out and flush the drain to see the results.
Final Thoughts
At times your clogged sinks require more than a dose of Drano and a plugger to unclog. Bathroom and kitchen sinks are tricky to unclog because multiple components going into the sink can create an impenetrable clog. However, there are various resources that you can consider using here before calling a plumber for help. Some of the best ways to unclog a clogged sink are the ones we have mentioned above. Using these will certainly help you here.
However, if the problem is still there, then simply call Acts of Service Plumbing in Tulsa and its surrounding communities.
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