Not again! It is the second or third time you have witnessed the super slow water drainage through your kitchen sink. It is more frustrating when you have a heap of dishwashing to do.
Now instead of calling the plumber helpline. You have decided to manage it yourself. Now one question is hammering your thoughts. And that is how to unclog a kitchen sink with disposal?
Don’t bother yourself more. Just read this article to get a comprehensive overview of all the options you can try to get the water flowing steadily through the sink outlet. Try with the simple and ordinary things first and then move on.
What has reduced the gulping speed of my kitchen sink:
The things can be countless. You can start imagining anything that goes into your glass, plate, blender, dishes, and cooking utensils are bound to be a reason behind this clog.
It can be a slow creeping, heaping and hardening of food particles, oil from the dishwashing, pasta leftovers, small bones, etc. It could be slow and steady, compiling of the little unwanted things passing down the sink outlet and down.
It could be some broken pieces of the glass or plates. So just be prepared for anything gross, smelly, sticky or slimy. No, no, don’t get put off! Keep your eyes on the reward, a free-flowing unclogged kitchen sink!
Plan of Action :
Well, to keep things simple and free-flowing. Just devise your plan of action into three necessary steps. These are:
Working on clogging from the sink outlet to the P-trap:
This is the most simple and necessary step. If luckily (though chances are less if the blockage is good enough ), it is before the P-trap. Then you can deal with it using simple home remedies or chemical drainer. They are described below in detail.
P-trap itself:
If your above efforts are unfruitful, still no worries. You can try opening the P-trap and work on clearing it. This is a simple opening, cleaning, and closing. There are a few catch points that are described below.
Working beyond the P-trap:
This is our last resort, and we are sure it will solve your problem at all costs. Just be patient and keep working!
Home remedies:
Before you proceed. Wear rubber gloves and use any nose plug if required. Remove all the standing water from the sink in some bucket. Make sure you clear any solids from the sink drainage area.
It could be any food leftovers, pasta pieces, or even your ring! Once done with this, now try the following one by one. Keep moving on step by step.
Simple boiling water:
This is as easy as boiling water in a kettle or electric jug. Pouring it little at first. Give it a few minutes to melt any hardened stuff. Now let down the whole water in the kettle.
Now check your water flow.Remember one thing if it is a double sink or it has connections with any other sink, they have single P-trap.
So, treat them equally, and once all steps before the P-trap have been tried, keep one of them closed with a rubber stopper. So water doesn’t flow back from one sink to another.
As you will focus on one side and may feel temporarily happy seeing it unclogged. But water is piling up in the other sink. So beware of this double bluff!
Rock salt and boiling water:
If above fails. Take half a cup of ordinary rock salt. Pour it down the sink. Wait for a few minutes. Now serve it with hot boiling water. Wait for another 10 to 15 minutes before you test it.
Detergents:
In case the above fails, try the home detergents. They may help your cause as they have reliable agents in them. If it fails too, try the below ones.
Vinegar and baking soda:
Again, the procedure and quantity are the same. Put half a cup of baking soda and later on run down almost the same amount of apple vinegar.
Commercial chemical drainers:
They may prove handy, but use them once in a while. As the clean your drains at the cost of your less shelf life of the drainage pipes.
Using a hand plunger:
This is simple. Create a vacuum by stopping one side of the sink. Now put it right above the sinkhole. Move it up and down. Keep it upright. It may help to move the clog out into the more significant drains, and hence the pressure may work out for you.
What if my P-trap is stuck:
Well if nothing above is working. The time has come to open your P-trap. Just be careful to put a 5-liter empty bucket below it. You can spread some rugs or rough clothes underneath to avoid any mess.
Open the slip nuts usually with your hands but may sometimes need a screwdriver for it. Open just a bit. Let the water come out. As the pressure breaks down, open the full trap.
You may see some solid clogs. Remove them. Some more water may come out. Now clean the inside. Be careful as put back the washers before closing.
As often, if washers are not placed with their concave surface downwards, they are the reason behind leaking P-traps. Now check the drainage.
The problem goes beyond the poor P-trap:
Plumber snake is crawling in:
Don’t lose your patience if things haven’t worked so far. Reopen the trap, move in the plumber snake. Keep rotating the disc clockwise to move the wriggle spring-like wire moving in the drains beyond the P-trap.
Move it as far as you can. Now spin it back by moving anti-clockwise. You may have it again with some blocking clogs. Repeat it a few times as long as it is smeared with clogs.
Power spin with drill:
This is the same as the snake above. But it is a hand auger on a power spin. For resistant blockage, you can attempt it with a drill machine too.
Finally:
You put back all the slip nuts. Test your sink drainage, and enjoy the sight of your sink, gulping all the water you are pouring in!
Conclusion:
It is completely fine to have clogged kitchen sinks. What is essential is to avoid it happening in the first case. This is done by regularly treating your sinks with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar.
However, if, despite care and precautions, it happens, don’t panic, just start by trying simple homemade products, then work on your P-trap. Still, missing the lead? Ultimately try the P-trap snake.
As snakes can crawl in where you can’t! Clearing the clog and see the free flow of water is the reward to all your handwork and hard work! Remember, believe in your self and discover the hidden plumber inside you!