Unclogging Kitchen Drain
Hi Everyone ~ I tried Liquid Plumr Full Clog Destroyer on my kitchen sink drain because the water was going down slow and it seems to have made it worse! Anyone with any handy dandy ideas to help unclog the drain? I also tried the baking soda/vinegar mix, but that didn't work either .... my concern is that it's worse now than before :(
happy2bhere You need a "snake" to put down it. Basically a long wire that can push the clog through. It's an old trick, but undoing an old wire clothes hanger is a make shift snake that is rigid enough as well as long enough to do the job.
Most clogs are at the u shaped bend so it should be long enough. If the clog is much further down the pipes than that, then usually you have multiple drains not flowing through. In that case, then you need the kind of snake that plumbers have, which can be bought at Lowes/Home Depot. As it happens, I have one of those that could be borrowed.
GC I find that caustic drain cleaners work best when the sink is empty. If you pour it in the drain when there is head on the sink side, as soon as the Drano starts to work, the weight of the water pushes it through, leaving you with a still partially clogged drain.
Have you tried a plunger or snake?
ianimal Of course the gross option is to unscrew the p-trap and see what's causing the clog...
Mark Mc. I did try a plunger, ianimal ... but it just helped get the water down momentarily. And, I did put the Liquid Plumr in when the sink was empty, waited a little over the required 15 minutes and flushed with hot water, but it really was not working. I thought it would be better in the morning, but it's not .... so, I'm going to need to borrow that plumbers' snake, GC ~ let me know when it's convenient for me to pick up. Trying to stay away from the "gross" option, Mark Mc. ~~ Thanks Guys!~ :)
Skippy The first step is to determine where the clog is. So many times, people think it's there in the p-trap. What's to say it's there. My sink tends to clog about 20 ft. downstream from the drain. Luckily, I have an unfinished basement and access to the clean outs.
emaxxman I don't even want to think about that, emaxx ~ would need a plumber at that point ... and, if so, does anyone know a good one? Just in case ....
I heard there's a snake in Lake Hopatcong! LOL. Anyway, good plumber? Plumb Crazy, for sure: (973) 945-4784.
ess I wound up calling Franco's Drain Cleaning @908-852-9211 a few weeks ago when I had both my kitchen sink and living level bathtub plugged. I tried everything including plunging. He came and in less than 1/2 hour had the water running smoothly in both places. I would highly recommend him for the job.
joyful happy2be, try the snake from GC, also , unbend a clothes hanger and push it down there and swirl it around,
i have fashioned a little u shaped hook on one end of the hanger and then on the other end make a short handle by putting a 90 degree bend about 3 inches in from the end, that way you can swirl it around in a circle and then pull it back up, anything stringy will catch in the hook and you can pull it back out.
it's all gross stuff at that point, so be forewarned.
you got girls right? anybody cutting their hair over the sink lately? also the grease from the frying pan should never go down the sink, scoop it out of the pan and make suet out of it for the birds in wintertime.
good luck, hope it works out for you, let us know how you are making out, and if you need a hand with it.
BrotherDog Not sure what this would do for a kitchen drain, but I make sure we always have one of these in the house now..works great, is cheap and we have also wiped it off and used it more than once,
http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/507
I also recommend You Tube videos for help
Bessie Thanks everyone & GC for dropping off the plumber's snake -- looks like I will have to undo the pipes at the bend and see what happens from there. Yay! Not! :/
Thanks, BroDog --- nope, no hair cutting allowed in the kitchen and the grease always goes in the "grease can" ;)
LOL, ess ~ thanks! :)
All great suggestions on here, and thank you for the great info. Will let you know how it turns out when I tackle it after picking up the kids ;)
I use the liquid plumber with the red plastic piece that goes down the drain and you can swirl it around,and up and down and get all that gross stuff out.....after that I pour the liquid plumber down and let it sit....works every time. BUT if you have already poured the liquid down the drain be very careful with whatever you put down to grab the gook...you dont want any of it splashing up at you.....you could really get burned....good luck.....
bowie If you have access to a wet and dry shop vacuum....try and suck out the debris that is causing the stoppage. Rather than pushing it further down the drain line, it is better to suck it out. ( Must be a WET Vac )
Wiggle the coat hanger around to loosen it as you vacuum it.
Toothpics are notorious for crisscrossing in a trap, and then catching other debris.
As far as using baking soda and vinegar together....that is just pouring an acid and neutralizing it with a Basic.
Good to know, if you added lye (Sodium Hydroxide) to the drain, you can neutralize it by adding vinegar so it is not caustic when you have to pull apart the drain trap assembly... "Simple Science!"
Embryodad We've used Franco's Drain Cleaning twice. he even came out once in a snowstorm and it was a Sunday. Very pleased with them.
Mariann 
sackAn older home can have a DWV system made of iron pipe, with only connections from the fixtures either brass or pvc. Such as the trap and easily removable slip nut joints.
There are some (few) homes with galvanized iron drains that in time will pit and build up rust inside which will catch debris until the point the drain internal size is so small, that it will not allow flow.
If the home is mostly copper plumbing at above grade connections, it is less likely to pit internally. Then, the most probable cause of the blockage, would be in the trap off the fixture. It is not always simply disconnecting; cleaning , and reassembling.
Once an aged pipe connection, and even a PVC commection, it can be a nightmare if it leaks after reassembling. The replacement parts are not that costly, and a good move, would be to replace that trap assembly, with a new cleanable trap.
That would have a small removable plug threaded at the bottom of the return bend, so that future clogs could be easily cleaned by just removing that clean out plug, and allowing the debris to fall into a bucket / container placed below it.
Hometown Hardware has something that is GREAT - use it all the time - it is in a white bottle and it is pink - sorry don't know the name of it - but i highly recommend it. I am sure if you go in there one of the guys will tell you what it is...............
jrn Caustic drain cleaners can damage pipes and your skin when you have to take apart the pipes because the drain cleaner still did not work, take the 15 minutes to take apart the trap and properly clean out your clog.
Darrin Very good tip, Darrin,...the Plumber that we hired to fix our problem said basically the same thing...
Hi Happy, as you know, I have Grandkids of various ages here a lot, and " stuff" mysteriously gets into my drains and toilets that most homeowners don't experience.
So the last time the plumber paid us a "visit" he gave me this advice and I haven't had to call him back in two years. Don't call a plumber until you have done this first...boil a pot of water, add white vinegar, and pour it down the troublesome train or toilet. Let it sit for half and hour and check to see if the clog is still there. It has worked every time, except for the matchbox car and train piece. The plumber told me he does this monthly in all of his drains( tub, sinks, toilets, laundry basin etc.). Hope it helps...
Spring Fever Absolutely substitute boiling water in place of hot tap water when trying to clear a clogged drain. Only caution is don't our directly at the drain opening if you've used any caustic cleaner - pour to the side so if there is any residue it won't splash up on you.
Why? Hot tap water will lose a good portion of it's heat to the walls of the pipe before it even gets to where the clog is whereas boiling water will still be hot enough to melt grease when it gets to the clog.
And if you wear glasses, prepare for them to steam up!
JerryG Was just thinking about coming on here to follow up with you guys ~ thanks for asking, joyful.
Undid the elbow and cleaned it out ... not too bad, tried to put the snake in the pipe that goes out to the wall and (I assume down), but I couldn't get it any further than approximately a foot (12") and it would get stuck and not go any further. Tried moving it around (circularly) while at that point and nothing. I put everything back together again and tried the boiling water with vinegar ... nothing.
I took a trip to Hometown Hardware and couldn't find the pink stuff mentioned above and started worrying about putting more chemicals down the drain.
So now, Franco is on his way ... should be here within an hour. I'll keep you guys posted ~ thanks! :)
Hopat-a-conda Help? Who do you think is stuck in the drain??? ;-)
Good call on Franco. Sounds like the clog just keeps getting pushed just a small bit further but not really cleaned out. Time for a professional.
Happy....I am curious to find out what your issues are since I have a bathroom sink and kitchen sink that have the same problems. They are very slow to drain and sometimes they dont at all. Both have had all the hardware from the sink drain to the wall replaced with new. My neighbor told me that perhaps it is the outside sewer lines that have not been maintained in a long time? No idea
hockeymom115 hockeymom115 - That's one of the next thoughts and one I had mentioned as a real possibility. If something like the snake goes through practically the whole house plumbing then the outside lines clogged up by tree roots is possible. I know someone with a down town house that went through out of that. That's a case where you need Franco with a "roto-router" type service to clean it all out.
hockeymom: are your drains vented? If you're in an old house sometimes there are no air vents in the system. If no air can get in the system drains very slowly. We're in an old Victorian and we have that problem.
Look up on your roof for a vent pipe, usually white plastic. If not, your drains may be clear but lack of air is the problem.
Ok ~ Franco came and did an excellent job. The drain is working full force. He had to put the snake all the way from the kitchen to the outside and it worked like a charm. Highly recommend this gentleman for plumbing work ~ thank you, Joyful, for the recommendation.
GC - Let me know when is good for me to return the snake you lent me to you. Thank you for dropping it off and all your help.
Thanks, everyone! :)
Glad all worked out well for you, happy2bhere.....Franco is really good. He knows what he is doing and is very professional...and compared to most plumbers not that bad in price either. He actually stopped back to our house that night just to make sure all was still OK after he fixed our drains..
Yes, he was very professional and told me that if anything went wrong within a week he would return to fix it. Thanks, again, Joyful :)
Now ~ does anyone know who I can call to kill a behive behind my shingles on my house. I keep trying to do it myself and they just come after me like crazy!
What? No takers to help me battle the bees?!? LOL ~ I didn't figure anyone was going to volunteer for that job and that's ok. I called Hennebry Pest Solutions and they came right over and helped me with the situation.
Mind you, this was after I sprayed four cans of Raid and one of Hot Shot and couldn't kill them. I really hated the idea of killing them, but they were getting into my basement and that was not good.
Here is their link if anyone ever needs any help with pests. They also do catch & release of racoons, skunks, ground hogs, etc.
http://www.hennebrypest.com/
sorry about that happy2behere, i have fought bees and hornets successfully over the years, but i've taken some hits along the way. usually i plan a nighttime attack on them, like the 10 o'clock hour. get all dolled up in hats and long pants and everything, gloves, and a strong garden hose for backup. make a plan, scope out an escape route, have a partner ready to slam and lock the door after i sprint back to the house. i was so much younger then. . . . .
glad you got it taken care of.
Sounds like you now have everything under control, happy2bhere...Glad everything worked out well for you....
I;m glad things worked out - was trying to gain work for the hopat-a-conda but apparently human logistics had it well in hand.
I noticed that, Skippy ;)
No worries, Bro Dog ~ I did it just like you said above .... long sleeves and pants, funky hat and the kids waiting by the door with hose in hand just in case. I got in and out unscathed and was able to pump the four cans of "supposed" hive killer, but .... it didn't work. So I had to call the professionals. I tried :)
Had a hornets nest near the back door a few years ago.
One or two would attack the kids or the wife as they went near the doorway.
I fixed em... took a spray can of spray adhesive, and sprayed directly into the hole of the nest. Instant success. Wings, and Glue do NOT Mix.
Works great ,,,,like a clog at the door.
Glue sounds like a good idea! Best to do at night when they're not active, I usually pour a pan of boiling water over it, instead of using chemicals.
hktownie I also have a piece you attach to a garden hose, you jam it into the pipe and then turn on the water. It fills like a balloon sealing to the walls of the pipe and then lets out a full blast jet of water, has worked on every tough clog I have had that I can get to the pipe. Home depot sells them, they are next to the regular snakes.
A clogged sink is a real disaster. If the vinegar, baking soda mixture is still not working then you can try unclogging your sink with cable auger. Its an effective way to unclog the drain.
Rita Calloway I just used Franco's Drain Cleaning (908) 852-9211. He came within the hour on a Saturday and unclogged 2 sinks. Great job!
Ronnie I wish people would stop advocating a mixture of baking soda and vinegar, all you are left with is salty water.
The_Bishop 
4catmom "The_Bishop" is correct!
Baking soda and vinegar were/are commonly used to make the science fair volcano, because baking soda is a base and vinegar is an acid. When they get together they neutralize each other and as he says, you're just left with salty water. Perhaps if you pour the vinegar down into the sink first, then pour some baking soda in, it may get some vinegar to react with it that's interspersed within your clog, but it seems much more likely that it would just foam up towards the path of least resistance, which is your sink drain opening. Lots of foam and bubbles perhaps, but doing little to nothing to undo the actual clog. If you mix them together first. you get a potential mess, but then only "salty water" to pour down your drain as "The_Bishop" states.
Usually you can put a bucket under the sink trap which is the curvy part and disconnect it by undoing the two nuts. The clog is usually there and you can take that outside and shoot the hose through it or use a hanger to prod it through from one end to the other and into you trash can. Then you can spray any kind of non-flammable cleaner onto a rag and push it through the trap, then reattach it and check for leaks by running cold water through it by turning on your sink faucet.
The function of the "trap" isn't really to trap all the crap that goes down your sink, though if your ring slips off your finger and goes down there, you'll be glad you can often rescue it by taking it off. The main reason it's there is to trap dangerous gases that are produced in the drain/wasteline system and keep them from being let back into the house which could be offensive at the very least and potentially dangerous. The trap holds water in the curve and that's enough to keep all but higher pressure gases from coming back out.
By the way, if you notice some funny smell(s) in a bathroom you rarely use or in a basement or laundry, try turning the faucet on and running some cold water into the sink for a bit. The water in the trap will often evaporate over time if a sink isn't used and the gases from the waste system will find their way out through there. Regularly replacing the water in the trap will stop that from happening.
Phil D. Fill sink quarter of the way up with water and use a good drain Plunger. Pump fast several times to create that vacuum and pressure which may take a few good tries. Always works for me and remember to run Hot Water in your sink for 10 seconds or so once a week to keep the Drain clean.
LittleRascal Liquid Plumber works for me too --- if the first time doesn't do it, repeat the process a second time.
Like Rita C. mentioned -- I have also used a Plumber Auger for a difficult sink and it worked with amazing results. From a standing water situation, to a sink that emptied in seconds flat.
Why not just remove the trap clean it out and re install it? Should take all of 10 minutes.
not sack
Thanks for seconding what I said above. I'm sure there are tons of youtube videos on "how to remove your kitchen sink trap", such as this one, where the guy in the UK does it in a 44 second video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNRUaIqVZmk
Here are written instructions with a picture too with links to a video:
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/loosen-pvc-sink-traps-50198.html
Of course I'd get some of the compression washers from Hometown Hardware or another store to replace them in case of, or to prevent leakage down the road, but then that's just me.
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