How to Unclog a Kitchen Or Bathroom Sink
How many times each day do you use your kitchen sink? If you’re like lots of people, the kitchen sink is indispensable to your daily routine, but you don’t really appreciate it until something goes wrong. A clogged sink is usually a disaster, as dishes stack up and cooking comes to a halt until the drain is clear. If your kitchen sink is running slow or is clogged now, follow the steps below to unclog the drain and get your kitchen running again–without harmful chemicals.
Make a drain-clearing solution. Combine 1/3 cup baking soda with 1/3 cup vinegar in a large liquid measuring cup, pitcher or bowl. The solution will fizz up rapidly when you combine the ingredients, so make sure the container is big enough to leave you plenty of space at the very top.
Pour the solution down the drain. Quickly pour the entire contents of the container down the drain. The faster this can be achieved, the better, because the fizzing action will gradually die out.
Wait 5 minutes. Give the solutions time to clear the drain.
Rinse with warm water. Turn on your tap and rinse the solution down with warm or hot water. The clog should be gone, and the water should go to waste normally.
If this doesn’t work the 1st time, try it a couple more times. Also try rinsing it down with a pot of boiling water. Sometimes the boiling water will dissolve the clog as it sits in the drain.
Get all the water out of your sink before trying this, or the solution won’t go down the drain full-strength. If water influences sink, scoop it out with a cup or bowl.
A better way to get the water out of the sink is to use a short hose or rubber tubing to siphon the water out from the sink. Put one end in the water and the other in a bucket or pot on to the ground. Sucking on the lower end of the hose will cause water to start flowing through it. The water will continue flowing after you quit sucking, though it must initially flow uphill to leave the sink. Just be sure to get your mouth aside before the water reaches your end of the hose. This method allow you to get water out even from deep in the pipe, and is much faster than using a bowl.
If vinegar/baking soda/boiling water don’t work, and you have a garbage disposal, fill the disposal sink with water. When you have a double bowl sink, put the stopper in the non-disposal sink. Turn on the disposal, remove the stopper, and many times the disposal will generate pressure on the disposal water to the point that it will dislodge the clog.