Unblocking A Kitchen Sink

Unblocking A Kitchen Sink

It’s happened to all of us at one time or another – a blocked sink. Whether it’s because the fat from the Sunday roast solidified in the bend, or simply because of a build up of kitchen detritus over time, a blocked sink is one of the most frustrating jobs to deal with in your kitchen. But if you adopt a step-by-step approach, you can minimise the hassle and the time that goes into solving the problem.

Step one – Plunge in

Most kitchen sinks can be unblocked easily and effectively without the need to rush out to buy a bottle of drain cleaner. Start by using your plunger if you have one. Every household should. After all, your kitchen sink isn’t the only one in your home.

Make sure the rubber cup completely covers the plughole and all other openings, such as the overflow, are plugged with wet rugs to ensure an airtight seal. The plunger must also be upright before you start to be effective. On a light blockage, this should work immediately. If it does, you should feel the blockage give way. However, if this method remains ineffective after ten or so ‘plunges’, then it’s probably time to move on to step two.

Step two – Baking soda and vinegar

It’s time for two of your kitchen’s most useful mainstays to go to work. Pour half a cup of baking soda down the plughole, followed by half a cup of vinegar. The reaction that follows should start dissolving most blockages straightaway, although you may have repeat this step several times to clear the blockage completely.

Step three – A-salt that sink

Still no joy? It’s time to team up the baking soda with salt. This time, pour a full cup of baking soda down the plughole, followed by a half cup of salt and leave to do its magic overnight. In the morning, follow up with two cups of boiling water.

Step four – Get physical

By now, you should have made a dent in even the most stubborn blockage. However, should you need to bring in the big artillery, untwine a coat hanger and get poking. If the result is a slow trickle of water out of the sink, then it’s time to get to work with steps two and three again. This time. the results should be much more effective.

Step five – The last resort

If, after all this, the blockage still refuses to move, you can try buying an off-the-shelf chemical solution. However, this is still no guarantee and you might be better off removing the u-bend under the sink and physically removing the blockage yourself. Not a nice job, but quicker and cheaper than running out to the hardware store to get a costly solution that may not work. Just remember to have a basin under the u-bend when you remove it to catch the backed up water.