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An easy cheap way to unclog a kitchen sink drain.

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Apr 30, 2005
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I found a great way to clear a clogged kitchen sink drain which usually clog from grease build up.
First remove as much water as possble from the sink, AND as far down the drain as possible.



From a pet shop get 10 feet or more of this thin clear plastic aquarium airline tubing and feed it down the drain as far as it will go.
Hang the other end outside or into a bucket that is large-enough to hold the water.
Suck on the exposed end of the tubing to get the water to start flowing.
Watch the water so you don't get any in your mouth.
Drain as much water as you can.
Ideally you'd get to tubing to go all the way to the clog so the bleach in the next step reaches the clog.
This is why getting the tubing farther down the drain is better.

Pour a quart or more bleach down the drain and let it sit for 30 minutes.
(I wouldn't leave it overnight as bleach is corrosive.)

Meanwhile boil two huge pots of water so they are ready at the end of the 30 minutes.
Carefully pour all of the boiling water down the drain; turn your face away to avoid the steam.

If this doesn’t clear the clog run hot water to fill up the sink and the pressure and weight of all that hot water pushing on the clog may clear drain especially if it is a large double-basin kitchen sink.

This works for me 90% of the time.

If it doesn’t move on to stronger products or call your plumber.
At least the bleach/hot water thing didn’t cost much and is putting less-harmful crap down the sink than those harsh lye-based products.

Another good practice to prevent clogs is to pour a quart of bleach down each drain and let it sit for 30 minutes then flush with plenty of water.
Do this once a month.

What tips do you guys have for drains?

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kenny|1358800327|3361050 said:
Suck on the exposed end of the tubing to get the water to start flowing.
Watch the water so you don't get any in your mouth.


:errrr: :errrr: :errrr:

If I try anything like that, my luck = dirty nasty water in mouth.
 
madelise|1358800475|3361051 said:
kenny|1358800327|3361050 said:
Suck on the exposed end of the tubing to get the water to start flowing.
Watch the water so you don't get any in your mouth.


:errrr: :errrr: :errrr:

If I try anything like that, my luck = dirty nasty water in mouth.



That's why I recommend aquarium plastic tubing.
It's clear so you can SEE the water moving towards you.

Also, make the tubing EXTRA long so you have plenty of time to move the open end from your mouth to the bucket.

Water moves very slowly in this thin tubing, and this thin flexible tubing more likely to go deeper and make it around the U-bend trap under the sink.
I HATE spending money on plumbers if I don't have to.

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I do a cup of bleach a month. First I flush the drain with a kettle of boiling water so it starts out hot when I put the bleach in. After, I rinse with another kettle of boiling water. Plumber told me never to use anything stronger as drain openers eat pipes, and I learned this the hard way when my bathtub drain broke from use of draino®, flooding the diningroom in the loft below.
 
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