How To Fix A Clogged Sink Drain 

Are you suffering from a clogged sink drain and want to know how to fix a clogged sink drain? If yes then be glad that you’re not alone. A clogged drain is a problem homeowners often experience. The good thing is that this problem is easy to fix. While they are easy to fix, clogged drains can be annoying as hell.

In fact, in terms of annoyance, only a few home repairs compared to clogged drain. Moreover, if you don’t fix the clogged drain immediately, you will lose use of your tub, toilet or sink.

A clogged drain is something homeowners often experience. Generally, a drain cleaner does the trick. However, there are times when you might not have a drain cleaner at home. In such times, you should consider the natural home remedies to simply and quickly fix a clogged drain.

A common plumbing problem, a clogged sink drain generally occurs in the bathroom. For this reason, many people want to know how to fix a clogged sink drain in the bathroom. Before you find out how to fix a clogged sink drain, you need to understand why it occurs.

A number of things contribute to a clogged sink drain. Since the sink is used on a daily basis, the pop-up of the sink can collect a significant amount of hair and debris. Moreover, soap and other products washed down the drain can slowly gather in the pipes of the drain.

The buildup of soap and other products in the drain reduces the size of the drain over time. This in turn slows down the progress of draining water. Since the aforementioned issues with drains happen naturally over time, they cannot be avoided. Periodically cleaning the drain to keep it flowing is the only solution you have.

If you notice your bathroom or kitchen sink draining slowly then it is a good sign that you have clogged drain. The good thing is that you can easily clear the clogged drain if you catch it early on. How to fix a clogged sink drain?

There are two ways for you to clear the clogged sink in your home: buy and use the drain cleaner available in the market or use a drain cleaner made from household items. All plumbing systems develop clogs and avoiding them is simply not possible. However, without the help of a plumber, you can fix most clogged drains including a clogged sink drain. So, how to fix a clogged sink drain? Let’s find out.

How to fix a clogged sink drain? You can clear most clogged drains with the right tools and a little determination. Though, you should consider hiring a drain cleaning service or licensed plumber for the job if you aren’t able to fix the clog after several attempts. Putting too much pressure on the drain pipe or fixture may permanently damage it. So, make the right decision and hire a professional if you fail to clear the clogged drain after several attempts.

How to fix a clogged sink drain? As mentioned earlier, there are two ways for you to clear the clogged sink drain in your home: use a drain cleaner available in the market or make a drain cleaner from household items. So, how to fix a clogged sink drain with a drain cleaner? Before you use the drain cleaner to unclog your skin drain, try the following things to fix your clogged sink drain.

Use The Zip-It Tool

How to fix a clogged sink drain? Clearing out any hair or debris that has collected in your skin drain is the first step to get it flowing again. Using the Zip-it tool is a cheap and easy way to do this. An inexpensive tool, Zip-it works wonders in just minutes. By putting this tool into the drain, you can catch hair and debris present in it. Once the Zip-it tool has caught the hair and debris in the skin drain, you can pull it out to unclog your drain.

Remove The Pop-Up

Due to its shape, the pop-up of the skin drain often collects debris and build-up. Removing the pop-up and cleaning it out is something you can try to unclog your sink drain if you don’t have the Zip-it tool of if the Zip-it tool isn’t able to clear the clogged drain. With a nut attached to the drain just beneath the sink, most pop-ups are held in place.

To find the pop-up nut and remove the pop-up, reach behind the drain pipe underneath the sink. After you’ve removed the nut, you can pull out, clean and reinstall the pop-up. Hopefully, by now you have a good idea of how to fix a clogged sink drain.

Clear The Overflow Of The Sink

How to fix a clogged sink drain? Diverting water into the drain in case it accidentally rises too high in the sink is one purpose of the overflow opening. Another important purpose of the overflow is allowing air into the drain when water fills the sink. The water in the sink drains faster when the air enters the drain via the overflow. Another place where build-up and debris can gather over time is the overflow of the sink. Cleaning the overflow is a good thing to do if your kitchen sink is draining slowly and cleaning the drain doesn’t fix your problem.

Use A Plunger

How to fix a clogged sink drain? One of the most common ways of unclogging a drain is using a plunger. Contrary to popular belief, a plunger isn’t reserved for a complete drain stoppage. You can use it for slow sink drain as well. Whether you a slow draining sink or a completely blocked skin drain, a little plunging can help you to loosen and remove the debris and hair present in the drain pipe.

Before you start using the plunger on the slow or clogged sink drain, cover the overflow of the sink with some duct tape or a rag. This will ensure that the plunger is effective. By creating a seal, covering the overflow helps clear any blocked drain pipe.

Pour Boiling Water

How to fix a clogged sink drain? By now, you probably have a good idea of this. Another way you can clear a clogged sink drain is pouring boiling water down the drain from a kettle. You should try this to clear your clogged sink drain if all of the aforementioned methods fail to solve your problem. The easiest and least expensive way of clearing a clogged sink drain, pouring boiling water down the drain is a method that needs to be repeated several times to get the desired result.

How to fix a clogged sink drain? The aforementioned ways are some useful ways of clearing a clogged sink drain. In case the aforementioned ways aren’t able to clear your clogged sink drain, you can use a drain cleaner to fix the clogged drain in your home. You can buy a drain cleaner from the store or make it yourself using household items. Before we discuss how to fix a clogged sink drain with a drain cleaner, let’s take a look at some tips to clear a clogged sink drain.

Clearing A Clogged Sink Drain With Boiling Water

How to fix a clogged sink drain with boiling water? A combination of soap residue, hair, tepid water and grease is what causes most sink drains to get clogged. Try hot water if you have metal pipes but make sure the water isn’t ‘too’ hot. When dealing with metal pipes, try pouring the boiling water down the drain. This is likely to disestablish the soap residue and grease and make your drain fully operational once again.

How to fix a clogged sink drain? When you’re pouring the water, make sure that you pour the water down the drain and not on the porcelain sink. Also, if you have plastic PVC pipes, avoid using boiling water. Lastly, use a plunger to unclog plastic pipes. Following are the steps to follow to clear a clogged sink drain with boiling water:

• Boil a gallon of water in a large tea kettle or pot on your stove
• Carefully take the kettle to the clogged sink
• Slowly pour the boiling water into the drain and see if it disestablishes the clog
• If you aren’t able to clear your clogged sink drain with this method, move onto the next clog clearing way which involves a plunger

Clearing A Clogged Sink Drain With A Plunger

How to fix a clogged sink drain with a plunger? First of all, you need to know that there are two basic types of plungers: the flange plunger and the cup plunger. To clear your clogged sink drain, you need the cup plunger. Specially shaped for use in the toilet, the flange plunger is for sanitary purposes. Make sure you choose the right plunger for your purpose. Following are the steps to unclog a clogged sink drain with a plunger:

• First of all, seal the outlet of the sink’s overflow present just underneath the rim and at the top of the sink bowl if the sink you’re trying to unclog is a lavatory sink. Cover the hole of the sink overflow with a piece of duct tape.
• Cover the overflow of the bath tub as well if you want the best results
• Remove the basket strainer if the clog is in a kitchen sink. On the other hand, remove the drain stopper if the clog is in a bathroom sink
• Using water, fill the sink bowl halfway
• Cover the drain hole with the cup plunger and ensure the latter seals the sink surface well
• Using the plunger, try to clear the obstruction with quick, sharp plunges. You may need to cover the wet cloth or duct tape sealing the overflow with your hands as it may become loose due to the plunging action
• Let the faucet run for several minutes once it is clear. Replace the sink basket or drain stopper after removing the seal of the overflow outlet
• Proceed to the next method if the plunger isn’t able to clear the clogged sink drain

Clearing A Clogged Sink Drain With An Auger

How to fix a clogged sink drain with an auger? If you aren’t able to clear your clogged skin drain with a plunger, try clearing the sink drain with a drain-cleaning snake or a sink auger. A sink auger is something you can easily get from the store. Moreover, it costs less than $20. Following is how you clear your clogged sin drain with an auger:

• After removing the sink stopper of the lavatory, put the auger cable into the drain
• When you reach the clog, pull out about twelve inches more of the cable and tighten the screw
• Turn the auger’s crank handle by applying firm but gentle pressure on it
• Until you feel you’ve worked through the clog, pull out as much cable as you require
• If the clog is in the trap, this method will work
• Once the drain starts to flow, repeat and flush with hot water

There you have it—how to fix a clogged sink drain without a drain cleaner. 9 out of 10 times the aforementioned methods will help you to clear your clogged sink drain. In case the rare situation arises and you aren’t able to cleat the clogged drain with the aforementioned ways, you can use a drain cleaner bought from the store or made at home at clear your clogged sink drain. Let’s now take a look at some drain cleaners that you can use to clear your clogged sink drain.

How To Fix A Clogged Sink Drain With A Drain Cleaner

How to fix a clogged sink drain with a drain cleaner? After you’ve pulled out the large debris, you can clean the drain pipes by using a mild homemade drain cleaner. You can use the combination of two common and inexpensive household products to break down the buildup inside the drain pipes and clear the clogged sink drain. You can get the drain to flow freely again by getting even a little bit of the buildup out of it. You can avoid the use of harsh chemicals and save money by using the following home-made drain cleaners to fix your clogged sink drain.

Using Baking Soda And Salt To Clear Your Clogged Sink Drain

How to fix a clogged sink drain? A combination that works well on sink clogs is baking soda and salt. To clear your clogged sink drain with this method, mix half cup of salt with a cup of baking soda and pour the mixture down the drain. Allow the mixture to sit for several hours and then flush with boiling water. If it doesn’t work the first time, you can repeat the process.

Using Vinegar And Baking Soda To Clear Your Clogged Sink Drain

How to fix a clogged sink drain? A good combination to use for this purpose is vinegar and baking soda. Start by removing the standing water. Next, pour into the drain a cup or so of baking soda. Follow this by adding a cup apple cider or white vinegar. The solution will fizz but when they bubbles disappear, put in the stopper and wait about fifteen minutes. Finally, to find out if the clog has cleared, run hot water down the drain. Repeat if necessary.

Using Dish Detergent To Clear Your Clogged Sink Drain

How to fix a clogged sink drain? The final way to clear your clogged skin drain using items available in your home is clearing the drain with a dish detergent. Pour quarter cup of dish detergent in the bowl if your sink is clogged. Next, boil some water. By acting as a lubricant, the dish detergent will break up any greasy residue. Pour the hot water down the drain and start plunging. You may need rubber gloves if the plunger doesn’t work to clear the clogged sink drain.

There you have it—how to fix a clogged sink drain with a drain cleaner. By using the aforementioned homemade drain cleaners, you will be able to clear your clogged sink drain effectively and cheaply. In addition to the drain cleaners, you can use the other clog clearing methods mentioned above. At a minimum, one of the aforementioned clog clearing methods will work for you. However, it is more than likely that all of the methods mentioned above will help you to clear your clogged sink drain.