How to Restore Water Flow To a Clogged Kitchen Drain

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When the water flow is clogged in your kitchen drain, see if you can fix it yourself before calling out the plumber.

Steps

  1. Realize that when water does not run through your drain, it is because there is a bunch of junk and trash clogged up in one of the pipes, just like cholesterol in your blood stream. The clog could be anywhere in the drain pipes, not just limited to your kitchen, like if one of your blood streams is clotted it could affect other parts of your body, not just that one arm or leg, etc.
  2. Try a plunger. Chemical drain cleaners are hazardous, and sometimes damage older types of pipes though modern plumbing fittings and drain cleaning chemicals seen in most developed countries are tested and certified to be safe when used together.
  3. Keep at it. Plungers can work on the upstroke or the downstroke. Plunging down increases the pressure above the clog and forces it down the drain (while breaking it up), on the upstroke the pressure above the clog becomes lower than the pressure below the clog (which then may break apart and come up into the bottom of the sink, where you may collect it and dispose of it in the trash).
  4. If working on a double kitchen sink with two slow, or clogged, drains, use two plungers (with a friend’s help) at once, pushing down and pulling up together. On a bathroom sink with an overflow hole in the side, seal the hole with one hand while plunging the drain with the other. Otherwise water will eject from one opening while you’re plunging the other, instead of forcing the clog loose. If no second person is available one of the two sinks drains must be blocked off with a plug held firmly in place while the other is worked on.
  5. If the plunger doesn’t work, put a bucket under the trap below the sink, and remove the trap by unscrewing the connectors. Clear the trap of any clogs. If the water drained from the sink when the trap was removed, and the trap wasn’t clogged, then the problem is further down the drain.
  6. Buy a long “snake” (also known as a drain cleaning auger).
  7. Insert the snake into the drain pipe where you removed the trap (easier than from the drain in the bottom of the sink), and when you find the problem, jam the snake hard to clear the trash. If the snake doesn’t reach the clog, look for a clean out (unscrew a plug in the drain pipe in the basement) further down the drain where the snake may be inserted.
  8. If the snake doesn’t help (particularly where the sink drains, but very slowly), sometimes there is a problem with the slope of the drain pipes. Check the visible portion of the drain pipe (in the basement) for sagging drain pipes. It may help to add pipe hanging straps to ensure that there is a steady downward slope in the direction of desired flow.


Tips

  • Remember that all the drains in your house are connected. Just because the water doesn’t run for the kitchen doesn’t mean the blockage is in the kitchen. That’s why you need a very, very long snake (but check for “cleanouts” in exposed pipes, which allow for snakes to be inserted further down the drain). The clog could be anywhere, from only a few feet down from the sink or outside the house in the sewer system.
  • Another cause of poorly draining sinks is insufficient venting. Your local public library will likely have a selection of books on plumbing which may shed light on your own sad case.
  • If the problem persists and you must call a plumber, watch the plumber. He/she is usually very cooperative and will answer any questions you ask. Plenty of people leave their plumbers alone; you can learn a lot so don’t miss these oppurtunities!


Warnings

  • although it may seem impossible, injury has been proven plausible. Act with caution


Things You’ll Need

  • Plunger(s)
  • Trashcan(to dispose of gunk)
  • Friend(for double sink)
  • Hand(for bathroom sink)
  • Bucket(for plunger backup)
  • Drain Cleaning Auger(if bucket way doesn’t work)
  • Pipe Hanging Straps(to help with pipe “sloping”)


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