Any slow draining sink is a nuisance. But different sinks tend to have different clogs. For instance, shower drains tend to collect hair. Kitchen drains, on the other hand, tend to have more problems with grease and food particles. The team at Herrmann Services put together these tips specifically for how to unclogkitchen sinks and garbage disposals.
When grease, or greasy liquids, get poured down your kitchen sink, they go down the drain in a liquid state, but as they move through your pipes, the fat cools. As the fat becomes solid, it coats the inside of the pipes.
This coating will get thicker and thicker as more grease builds up until you get a slow draining sink or a completely clogged sink.
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To unclog a slow draining kitchen sink, before you go out and buy drain cleaner, try this first. Boil a pan full of water on the stove. A tea kettle will do nicely as well. Pour a half cup of baking soda down your drain followed by a half cup of white vinegar. Let it fizz and bubble for five to ten minutes or so.
Then, carefully pour the pot or kettle full of boiling water down the drain. Turn the faucet on and see if it’s draining faster. Because the clog usually contains a lot of grease, the boiling water melts the grease, thus removing the clog.
If hot water doesn’t improve the problem, the culprit may be something other than grease buildup. It’s time to pull out the plunger. If there is standing water in the sink, remove it until there is only an inch or two so you can see what’s going on.
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Place the cup of the plunger over the drain opening and pump up and down rapidly several times. Quickly pull the plunger off the drain opening. If this did not dislodge the clog, it may be trapped in the P-trap. Don’t forget to plunge both sides of the sink.
Large food particles like vegetable peels that become trapped in the curved pipe beneath the sink (known as the P-trap) are another common cause of kitchen drain clogs. Removing the P-trap sounds difficult, but is really not that involved.
You will need a channel-type pliers. Have a bucket handy, because water will spill from the drain when you remove this piece. Dump out any debris you find and rinse the pipe thoroughly before replacing it.
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If the P-trap doesn’t appear to be the problem, the clog may be located further down the pipe. If that’s the case, you can use a drain snake to try to remove it. Most homeowners don’t have these on hand, and they are not cheap to rent or buy. At this point, it may be best to call a qualified plumber.
Natural enzymes eat organic matter and were originally used to reduce the amount of organic waste buildup in septic tanks. Enzymes are now available for all types of plumbing needs, and if properly maintained, enzymes will help keep the pipes free and clear of buildup when used on a regular basis.
Enzymes are not as effective at removing an existing clog immediately, but regular use will keep your pipes clear of any organic buildup which helps you avoid clogs in the first place. Plus, natural enzymes are very easy on your pipes, unlike chemical drain cleaners.
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If your kitchen sink defies all of your efforts to clear the clog, give Herrmann Services a call at (513) 737-8423 or contact us online and we’ll send a skilled plumber to your home.Introduction Kitchen sink clogs, usually caused by grease or overworked garbage disposers, can be easily removed in minutes with these simple tools and common-sense tips.
When the water in your kitchen sink won’t drain, or drains slowly, don’t reach for the chemical drain cleaner. Instead, try this three-step method recommended by one of our favorite plumbers to unclog a kitchen sink drain.
The first two steps we’ll show you don’t even require removing the trap or take anything apart. If you’re lucky, all you’ll need is a bent coat hanger. But if the clog is in the trap or farther down the drain, you’ll need a 1/4-inch drain snake.
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You can buy an inexpensive snake that’s simply a cable running through a bent pipe, but we recommend spending a little more money for a cable enclosed in a drum. This type is much easier to use.
Before you start on any of our solutions, suck all the water out of the sink with a wet-dry shop vacuum or sponge it into a bucket. That lets you see what you’re doing. And if you do have to disassemble plumbing, it’ll be less messy.
First, look under the sink to find the waste tee. If your drain setup looks something like the one shown here and the water backs up on the side without the waste tee, you might remove the clog with a bent coat hanger.
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There’s a baffle inside the waste tee meant to direct water down the drain. But since the baffled area is narrower than the rest of the drain, food often gets stuck there. Garbage disposers are notorious for causing clogs, especially at the baffle. The trick is bending a hook on the end of a coat hanger wire and using it to dislodge the clog.
Use a pliers to create a bend that will fit through the slots in the basket strainer. Peek under the sink to get a rough idea how far down the waste tee is from the basket strainer. Push the bent hanger down the drain. Then twist and pull until you feel it hook onto the baffle. Now wiggle it up and down while twisting it to remove the clog.
Run water in the clogged sink to tell if you’ve removed the obstruction. If the sink still doesn’t drain, there’s a clog farther down. Move on to the next step.
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If the bent coat hanger doesn’t get the clog, there’s a good chance you can still clear it without taking your plumbing apart. Run a modified snake down through the slots in the basket strainer.
First, clip off the spiral end. Then bend the last few inches at about a 30-degree angle with a pliers. Finally, unwind the tip slightly to form a small hook.
There are several advantages to this method. You don’t have to remove all the stuff from under the sink, struggle to take apart and reassemble drains, or worry about spilling dirty drain water when you remove the trap.
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Also, pushing the cable down through the basket strainer allows you to clean the slime-covered cable as you withdraw it by running clean water down the drain. (Believe me, this is a nice bonus!) And finally, since the drain is still fully assembled, you can tell by running the kitchen faucet whether you’ve unclogged the drain.
Garbage disposals and grease are the two biggest contributors to clogged sink drains. Here’s the first rule for avoiding clogs: Don’t use your garbage disposals like a trash can. If your family sends vast amounts of food down the disposal, you’ll have a clogged sink someday.
Disposing of turkey carcasses, gummy foods like pasta and fibrous items like banana peels in the sink is asking for trouble. The same goes for heaping plates of leftovers. Scrape the big stuff into the garbage can and use the disposer for the small stuff.
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The second rule: Never pour grease down the drain. And running hot water along with it won’t help. The grease will just congeal farther down the drain pipe where it’ll be even harder to clear.
If you can’t unclog the drain using one of the steps above, then it’s time to take off the P-trap and waste arm and feed the drain snake directly into the drain pipe. Remember to remove as much water from the sink as possible before you remove the trap. Then place a bucket under the trap to catch any remaining water.
Use large slip-joint pliers to loosen the slip-joint nuts on both ends of the trap. Unscrew the nuts and remove the trap. Do the same with the nut that secures the waste arm to the drain and remove the arm.
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Before you reach for the drain snake, look up into the baffle tee to make sure the baffle area is clear. Then look into the P-trap to make sure there’s no clog in the bottom. If both spots are clear, then the clog is farther down in the drainpipe and you’ll need a drain snake.
With this method, the only way you’ll know if you’ve unclogged the drain is to reassemble the trap and run water down the drain. If you’ve got a metal trap and drain arm, we recommend replacing them and the other metal drain parts with plastic. Plastic parts are easy to cut and assemble. They’re also easier to take apart if you have a problem in the future, and they don’t corrode.
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Loosen the setscrew or chuck to allow the cable to come out of the drum freely. Now feed the cable into the drain until you can’t push it any
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