Top 8 quick and cheap ways to unclog the drain of the kitchen sink

If the blockage is not severe or is just starting to form, you can opt for milder measures. The salt will clean the pipes from the inside, while also removing bacteria and unpleasant odors. Since its effects are quite mild, you will probably need to repeat this process several times – especially if the blockage is larger than you think.

• Pour half a cup of salt into the drain hole.
• Take a pot of boiling water and add salt. Be careful that the hot water does not splash back into your hands or body.
• Turn on the hot water tap and drain more water into the outlet.
• Repeat if you feel the need.

A hanger is essentially an alternative to a drain hose if you don’t have one or if the blockage isn’t too severe.

• Get a wire hanger and pliers.
• Remove the hanger and straighten it with your hands and pliers.
• Use pliers to create some sort of handle at the end – you’ll need to rotate your craft drain hose. That’s the coat hanger! Now you can use it as a small drain to unclog the drain.

Vinegar and baking soda are popular ingredients from time immemorial when used to clear clogged pipes. This is a quick and simple solution, you may not even have to spend a dime as you most likely already have these ingredients in your kitchen.

• Pour boiling water down the drain. As much as possible, you can pour a whole kettle into it.
• Then add 0,5 – 1 cup of baking soda and leave for a few minutes.
• Now, mix boiling water and vinegar in 1:1 ratio and pour on top of baking soda.
• Cover the drain to let the mixture work inside. You can use a plug, a plunger, or anything else – just don’t let it come loose.
• To refill the cup, pour another cup of hot water inside and everything is perfect!

Toplist will start the article with a strong and effective solution, for those who have not repaired anything but the sink pipe has become too serious to try the lighter solutions. First, pour hot water down the pipe. It will help soften the blockage and gradually break it up little by little.

• Take 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/4 cup of salt. Mix together and pour down drain hole.
• Heat a cup of vinegar until just boiling, then pour over the other ingredients.
• Quickly cover the drain to avoid foaming.
• Wait 15 to 30 minutes, then finish with another serving of hot water.

Sodium hydroxide is a magical chemical that has the ability to turn some hard substances into liquids. It is used as an ingredient in measures to combat sewer and pipe clogging, making clogging agents particularly reactive, and it can even break hair and other debris. To use this magical ingredient:

• Take a bucket and fill the bucket with 3 liters of cold water.
• Add 750 ml of liquid caustic soda to the bucket and mix well (don’t touch the bucket with your bare hands!)
• Wait until the water starts to scum and heat up due to a chemical reaction.
• Pour the mixture down the drain and let it sit for about 20 minutes.
• When the time is up, rinse with a kettle of boiling water.

If the chemical reactions don’t work, you can do some physical manipulation. A P-trap is a curved pipe underneath a kitchen sink that can accumulate grease and small debris. Due to its appearance, it becomes the cause of most of your kitchen sink clogs.

• First of all, you need to be prepared to clear the clog, because it will be very messy. Remove the water from the sink as it will run down when you remove the trap. Now place a bucket directly under the trap, get some towels on hand, then get going.
• The P-trap is attached to 2 tubes with nuts that you need to loosen to remove.
• Once you have removed the trap, you can clean it. It will inevitably be filled with food, grease and other debris. Clean hard debris with your hands and brush, then rinse with hot water to dissolve grease stains.
• When you’re done, return the P-trap to its place.

Some traps have plugs that you can use to clean without removing the trap yourself, but it’s better to remove and rinse with hot water.

Have you put the P-trap back in place? Are not? Then wait a minute. This is a good time to use a hose to unclog the drain. Since the P-trap is clean and clear, you need to remove the trap arm.

• Now take a drain hose and start inserting it into the wall-mounted pipe, in a rotating motion. If you feel an obstacle, try to continue – this may not be a blockage but a pipe corner.
• If the drain hose hits something and doesn’t go any farther, it’s definitely a blockage. Continue to rotate the drain to break the blockage and clear it out.
• Then pull it back. Make a drain and try again.
• When the blockage is gone, put the P-trap back in and turn on the hot water to clean the pipe.

This is perhaps the most surprising point on Toplist’s list, but it’s actually quite similar to the previous measure. It’s time to use the “heavy artillery”! An important note to remember is that you can’t do this with every vacuum cleaner – only wet and dry vacuums. Please note that you will need help controlling the switch, so don’t do it alone.

• Have a rug and towel ready, as well as a bucket towel, to cover and clean the area, as you might get splashes.
• Insert the vacuum hose into the drain hole and attach the other end to the drum leg to draw air in. You should take a cup, like on a piston, to make a seal with the drain hose. You can buy or make your own from an actual plunger cup.
• Turn on the vacuum cleaner and listen carefully to the sound in the machine. If the blockage is there, the sound will be different than if the machine just sucked in air.
• Suck until the sound changes, meaning you’ve unlocked. If it takes too long, turn off the hood and wait a few minutes. Otherwise, you may damage the pipe or machine.
• If the blockage doesn’t clear, try to mimic the motion of the piston with the hose. But be careful if you don’t want to crack the sink’s pipes.
• When the blockage clears, turn off the faucet, carefully remove the faucet and drain some hot water down the drain. You will be surprised!

Sources: Brightside