Having a blocked sink can be inconvenient. It makes it harder to wash dishes, to carry on with your daily activities, and can be a huge embarrassment when you have friends over. If you are experiencing a sink blockage and are not sure how it happened or where it’s coming from, here are some ideas of what the culprit might be:
Grease
You’ve undoubtedly seen bacon fat at room temperature; it’s quite unpleasant. When you pour a greasy pan into a drain, you might be getting that crud stuck in your pipes. You want to make sure you dispose of grease properly because it will congeal at room temperature, causing harm to your pipes. Every time you dump oil down your pipe, you are adding another layer of build up to the walls of your pipes. This will cause blockage to your sink pipes.
Soap
When soap mixes with mineral-heavy water, it will create scum that will also get stuck to your sink pipes. Over time, this scum can cause a blockage that can be very hard to clean. Any chemicals you might use will have the same effect.
Food
Small food particles that didn’t get strained from the sink strainer might have gone into your drain and could be the reason for your blockage.
Plunging the drain
If you are experiencing a slow drain rather than a complete blockage, you might want to try to plunge the drain before you call anyone to help you. There are sink-only plungers you can get at the store, but if you don’t have time, you can sanitize your regular plunger before using it on your sink. First, run some warm water to try to soften the clog. Next, make sure your plunger is secure on top of the drain then firmly pump it a few times. IF this doesn’t work, then move on to the next step.
Baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water
This old trick is like your high school science volcano project, but with a twist. The baking soda goes in first, then the vinegar, let it sit for 10 minutes then drain it with hot water. This old trick is known to be effective and a more holistic approach to any chemicals you might have already tried. The baking soda has a basic pH level, meaning that it reacts well with the acidic pH level of the vinegar. This fizzing reaction you will hear will cause any grease or slime or loosen up in your pipes, hopefully dislodging it from its place, releasing the blockage.
Call in professionals
If all else fails, the final step is to call in a professional that has the expertise and experience to solve the problem. If you have exhausted all your other options, you will probably need to resort to calling in a certified plumber that will be able to take care of your problem for you.
Morey PHC provides emergency plumbing repairs in San Diego, California. Get in touch today to see how we can help. We’re available 24/7!
