We’ve probably said it a thousand times, but we’ll say it again (and again), scrape off dishes and don’t rinse food, garbage, and grease down your kitchen drain! But since you’re going to do it anyways, here’s a quick guide to handling clogged kitchen drain.
Use a Plunger.
If your sink has two drains, you’ll need to plug one of them. Just use your usual plug or have an assistant (a spouse or older kid works great!) apply pressure with a wet cloth. This can get messy, so give them a pair of rubber gloves as well. Once that’s done, you can plunge normally.
Both the upstroke and the downstroke of plunging helps to break up the clog and move it along the drain, so even if you don’t succeed right away, keep at it! Sometimes, the clog is too far down though and the pressure is lost to a vent. In that case, plunging just isn’t going to get the job done.
Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Hot Water.
While commercial grade drain cleaners exist, a lot of them can actually damage your plumbing. Given that, we generally recommend not using them. Instead, go back to the basics. Dump a cup of baking soda down your drain. While that sits, boil some water and get out your vinegar.
For this job, you’ll want to plug a second drain just like you did when you used the plunger. However, if you do not have a plug, do not have anyone hold a wet rag in place. If the hot water comes up the pipe, they could be seriously burned.
Once your water is boiled, pour a cup of vinegar down the drain. Follow it quickly with your boiling water. As with plunging, you may want to give this a couple tries.
Whether you use a vinegar-baking soda mix or a commercial grade drain cleaner, it’s important not to try plunging after you’ve tried a chemical method. It could end with someone being sprayed by chemicals. Baking soda and vinegar might seem benign since we use them everyday, but we promise that you don’t want either in your eyes.
If you still can’t handle a clogged kitchen drain, it’s probably time to call in a professional. Call the Plumbing Paramedics today at (587) 316-9808.
Call us at (403) 452-2911 or Book Now an appointment.
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