How to unclog a bathroom sink drain?
by admin on Monday, November 21st, 2011 | 9 Comments
The water keeps filling up into the sink when I turn it on, but can’t figure out what could possibly be down there clogging it up since nothing gets put into it other than water and spit-out toothpaste haha. What can I do to unclog it?!
Use the turbo snake! Infommercial item that really works! I got mine for 10 bucks
Try using a snake, you should be able to find one at a lowes, or home depot. (not a real snake.. lol… just ask an associate at a hardware store, and they will know what you mean)
You could try Drain-O or Liquid Plumber.
Baking soda mixed with vinegar can also clear a drain -
liquid plumber
Let the water drain down , pour 3 to 4 cups of bleach down drain let it sit over night,put a wet towel or rag over drain,to stop the fumes of the bleach. In about 8 to 10 hours flush with cold water, Bleach will eat up hair ,soap scum.and food particles so it”s also good for the kitchen sink.And old plumber told me about this years ago and it works for me.Do it once a month or so in all your drains doesn”t cost much.
dont use chemicals. they’re dangerous to you and they’ll eat your plumbing innards all to heck. one thing i found that is easy to use and very effective is called a zip-it drain cleaner. you can get one for a few bucks. what i would do is pull the drain stopper out (if it has one). you usually have to take the nut off the back that has the rod sticking out of it. if you pull the drain stopper from the back of the faucet up and down you can find it. you should be able to pull the stopper out. then use the tool, or a snake whichever you choose to pull all the stuff out that’s backing the drain up. get ready, it could be really gross!!! but it’s not hard to do. good luck. Chemicals will only cause you more problems.
If you have a vaccume hold a cloth to block the over flow hole in your sink, put the air OUT take from your vaccume cleaner on top of your drain and wrap with a cloth so the air is forced into the drain when you turn it on. this works every time I have done it.
As far as what is in the drain, it’s really easy to get hair, soap scum, etc. building up inside there over the years. Fortunately sink drains are usually the easiest drain to clean out. The vast majority of sink clogs will be located in the “P” trap (the curved portion of drain under your sink), or near to the trap. Also, they will generally have a removable (or two-piece) trap that can be unscrewed and taken out for easy cleaning using a coat hanger, or even just flushing it with water (from a different sink – remember your drain will be disconnected). Lay out a towel first as the trap will be full of water and gunk when you remove it. Try this fix first since it’s usually the most effective, least expensive (as long as you have a wrench), and takes about ten minutes
Chemical cleaners can damage pipes in some cases, and at best they work maybe 50% of the time.
Fixes that create pressure in the drain (vacuums or plungers) also create a risk of weakening drain connections and causing leaks.
Yes the hair is a problem over a few months. I just cleaned mine with a piece of wire with a tight bend on the end. I used some old phone cable, stripped about 2 inches and bent the ends back and then fished the hair out from the sink side. Took about 15 minutes and got about a handful of wet hair out of the drain. It works fine now. This plug was near the where the plunger linkage goes through the drain. Messy but not too difficult to do.