My disposal stopped working months ago so I never put food down my sink drain. If I had leftovers I would throw them in the trash. My sink was getting grimy but it couldn't possibly be clogged. When I searched the Internet there was talk of call a plumber and remove the trap. I had to search for a little while before I found the suggestion to use a plunger. It made no sense to me because there was no food down there so how could it be clogged, but I pulled out my plunger and in under thirty seconds the sink was draining perfectly.
This is a sink plunger. It is not a toilet plunger.
There are plungers that are specifically made for sinks and those that are made for toilets. Most people don't really know about the difference. It's a good idea to have one of each.
Here is a sink plunger from Amazon.
If the plunger that you use for your toilet looks like one of these and you find it difficult to unclog a toilet, then the problem may be that you're using the wrong type of plunger.
This is a toilet plunger. It has that secondary cup on the inside.
Even if there could be food in your sink drain the very first thing you should do is use a plunger on it. If that doesn't work then this article from WikiHow has some other methods for unclogging your drain. I'm not sure why "use a plunger" isn't a ubiquitous idea for sinks the way it is for toilets. When you're toilet isn't working properly you don't immediately try to remove part of the pipe. So for your sink, before using drain cleaner or taking out the trap or calling a plumber try a plunger and see if that doesn't quickly and easily fix your sink.
3 comments:
My family learned this the hard way. Myself, my Wife and kids have always been really strict about what goes in the sink, as we don't like to use our disposal too much. We recycle food waster anyway, so we couldn't work out where our clogging kept coming from. This was until we witnessed our youngest Daughter casually throwing Apple peel down the sink!
Gordon Patton @ Bison Plumbing and Heating Ltd.
Thank you for sharing this online. My household had the same problem. For months we were trying to figure out what was wrong with the sink, despite the fact that we normally took very good care of it and even used a strain to make sure food doesn't get through. I'll look into buying a sink plunger.
Evon Brow @ Athens Plumbing
What a strange problem to have. The clog might be lower and deeper in the drain, or it could be an issue with the septic tank itself. The only way you are going to find out is by contacting a local plumbing professional. They have the skills and tools to find out what the problem is that you are dealing with at home.
Carmelo @ PRO Hot Water Service
Post a Comment