Kitchen Sink Not Draining? Here Are 6 Ways to Unclog It

For many of us, the kitchen is where our heart is. It is essentially the operating room of the housing unit, in the sense where we humans get recharged. The kitchen is where all the food is made, where we make our morning coffee and listen to the news. In my house, it is the core unit where all the hustle and bustle takes place.

So imagine our kitchen taking a hit, and the sink gets clogged! It’s a nightmare, the cooking and cleaning process; every single thing gets disrupted. Getting a professional plumber today is very expensive, plus you don’t want to waste your money on these plumbers if you can do a quick fix.

Also, not to forget, you can get a plumber with one call. You got to make the appointment, wait for them to come, do an assessment, and then tell you the cost and then they do the deed.

So why not try and unclog the kitchen sink yourself. It is not that big of a deal. But please be careful of plumbing myths that can cause more damage than solve it for you. So here are our 6 ways with which you can unclog your kitchen sink. Go through the list, and even then, if the problem is not solved, feel free to call a professional plumber.

6 Ways to Unclog your Kitchen Sink

1. Use Boiling Water

A Drain is usually clogged with hair, soap residue, or debris, etc. Sometimes all you need is boiling water that can open the drain for you. If you have a kitchen sink which gives hot water, use that. Or you can boil the water on the stove and try that method.

If your heating system is up-to-date, your kitchen faucet will be able to give you hot water. A lot of homeowners get the professional heating system involved, and the Gas safety certificate cost is not that high as well. So the first piece of advice is to let the hot water run from the faucet.

Secondly, if you are following the traditional method, here is a series of few steps for you:

• Boil half a gallon of water on the stove
• You can also use a kettle to heat the water
• Pour the boiling water into the clogged drain
• Turn on the kitchen tap to see if the water starts draining.
• If it is still not draining, repeat the steps.

Disclaimer: If your draining system is attached to PVC pipes, do not try the boiling water method as it can melt the pipes or the plastic.

2. Check Your Garbage Disposal

Garbage disposal is something that is installed right underneath your kitchen sink. It helps to shred the stuff that you put in the sink so it doesn’t clog your drain. Sometimes, your garbage disposal can get clogged. In this case, you need to check your garbage disposal.

How can you check your garbage disposal? Following are the steps:

Usually, these garbage disposals come with a manual that mentions how to clean them up or unclog them if the need be. So if you have the manual, now is the time you take that out.

• Turn off the switch of the garbage disposal to avoid any accidents.
• You can use the reset switch that the disposal has, then turn everything on and see how it works.
• If you hear a humming sound from your disposal, it may be broken.
• You can unclog the disposal by using a wrench, but never put your hand in it, even if the switch is off.

Even if then the problem is not solved, you can then call for professional plumbing help.

3. Plunge, Plunge, Plunge!

This is the most old-school method of unclogging your drain, but let me tell you, it still works! So get a plunger and make sure it’s a flat bottomed one for your kitchen sink and start plunging.

Here are a few steps for you to follow:

• Fill in the sink with hot water
• When it is halfway full, it will create a seal around the drain.
• Now take your plunger and place it over the drain.
• Start pumping the plunger up and down as quickly as can several times.
• Keep repeating the process until the clog opens up.

If your kitchen sink is still clogged, keep reading for our fourth solution.

4. Use Baking Soda and Vinegar

Age-old method, that hands-down works very well. Instead of using a harmful chemical solution to unclog your drain, it is probably wise that you use this natural method.

Following are the step to use baking soda and vinegar to unclog the drain:

• If there is water standing in your sink, get rid of it using a cup.
• Pour down one whole cup of baking soda down the drain.
• Then pour one cup of white vinegar down the drain.
• Cover and seal close the drain opening.
• Let it stay covered for at least 15 minutes.
• Remove the seal and turn on hot water or use boiling water and pour it down the drain.

Your kitchen sink should open with this method for sure. I can personally swear by it. However, if it doesn’t, keep reading the article for more options.

5. Use the Plumbers Snake

There is a plumbing tool called a plumbers snake. This is a spiral tool that is used to unclog the drain as it can go inside and unclog the drain. If you do not have access to a plumbers snake, you can create one using hangers and try it.

Even then, if your kitchen drain stays clogged, here is my last tip for you to try.

6. Try Cleaning the Pipes

There is a pipe in your drainage system that is elbow-shaped. This pipe is referred to as the P-Trap in the plumbing world. The clog may be in that area is the problem.

The solution here is to disassemble the pipe, place a bucket underneath it while you are doing it so if there is any leftover water, it doesn’t create a mess. Clear the pipes and reassemble and then try again. Hopefully, the Sink is draining perfectly now.

And after trying all these tips, your kitchen sink is still not draining; it is time you call a professional plumber to help you out.