5 STEPS TO UNCLOG YOUR SINK

5 STEPS TO UNCLOG YOUR SINK

Do you have kitchen or bathroom sink that drains slowly or is completely stopped up? The worst part occurs when the dirty un-sanitized water with chunks of food floods your sink.  When this happens you are left with a nasty ring around the sink, and you find yourself having to clean the sink after cleaning the dishes.

I´m going to share with you 5 steps to unclog your sink.

Step 1

 Partially fill your sink with water, then star plunging vigorously work the plunger up and down several times before quickly pulling of the drain opening. Be careful when plunging, it’s easy to slip and hurt yourself. If it’s a double bowl kitchen sink, place a wet rag into one drain opening while you plunged the other one. If it’s a bath sink, stuff the rag into the over flow hole. I both cases the rag helps deliver the pressure directly to the clog.

 

Step 2

If plunging did not solve your problem. Remove the sink´s trap under the sink with a pipe wrench. The large threaded coupling on PVC plastic traps can often be unscrew by hand. Empty the water from the trap into a bucket. Then, make sure the trap is not clogged.

 

Step 3

This steps requires the use of a cable auger. You´ll need to remove the horizontal trap arm that protrudes from the stub out in the wall. Feed the cable into the stub out until you feel resistance. Pull out 18 inches of cable, then tighten the lock screw. Crank the handle in a clock wise direction and push forward at the same time to drive the cable further into the pipe. While using the auger, it’s important that you wear goggles and gloves. Be firm and careful. It’s very easy to severely injure your arm while cranking it.

Step 4

Pull out another 18 inches of cable and repeat the process until your break through the blockage. If the cable bogs down or catches on something. Turn the crank counter-clock wise and pull back on the auger. Once the cable is clear, crank and push forward again.

 

Step 5

Retrieve the cable and replace the trap arm and trap. Don’t be to forceful or you make crack the pipes if there made from PVC. Turn on the hot water faucet to see if the sinks drains properly. Debris from the busted clog sometimes settles into a lose blockage. Partially fill your sink once more with hot water and use your plunger to clear that extra debris. Follow up with more hot water those are the 5 steps to clearing a clog sink you may need to do this one a year. Once a sink a sink begins clogging the problem will usually resurface. Please do not be tempted to use those daring cleaners from the store… Many of them have harsh chemicals that eat the inside of the pipes, eventually causing leaks.

 

If you encounter any troubles when unclogging your sinks we are standing by to help.