If you are experiencing issues with a blocked sink or a shower drain please check out these useful tips before reporting the issue for professional investigation:
Baking Soda and Vinegar
Empty one-half cup baking soda down the drain, followed by one-half cup white vinegar. The fizzing action will help to remove the gunk, hair, and grime that has built up in the pipe. Let it sit for one hour or even overnight if you can. Then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain.
Long Wire Hook
Bend the end of a long piece of wire into a small hook (a coat hanger works great) or get a drain cleaning tool. Carefully remove the drain cover, remove any visible debris, then insert the hook. You should be able to get all sorts of hair and gunk out of the drain. Remember, you always want to be pulling gunk out, not pushing it further. When you’ve got as much out as you can, run the hot water, and it should clear things up nicely.
Boiling Water
Tips don’t get any easier than this. Put the kettle on and boil up as much water as it will hold. Now pour it slowly down the drain in two to three stages, allowing the hot water to work for a several seconds in between each pour. The heat melts the fats in the “clog” & makes it all more flushable. This is usually the easiest and quickest way to unclog a drain.
Salt and Hot Water
This combination is almost the same as the previous one. You just have to add salt to the hot water. Pour one-half cup of salt down the slow-moving drain. Heat 2 liters of water until it is nearly boiling then slowly pour down the drain and flush with hot tap water. It may take several rounds of salt and hot water. You can use any type of salt (table salt, sea salt, or kosher salt).
Plunger
This works on food particles or objects stuck in the p-trap (the curved pipe) beneath your sink. Try this on completely clogged or slow-draining drains. Clear the surrounding area in case of water splashes. Fill the sink halfway with warm water then give your sink a good plunging using a rubber plunger. Rinse drain with hot water. The plunger dislodges stuck food particles and allows them to pass down through the drain pipe.
HOW TO PREVENT DRAIN CLOGS FROM COMING BACK
After you declog a drain, follow these five guidelines to prevent the problem from reoccurring:
- Never put fats, oil or grease down a drain. Any substance high in fat should be cooled and then disposed of in the trash or wiped into the trash before washing.
- Don’t use hot tap water to melt fats so they can be rinsed down the drain. They will cool and clog your pipes!
- Dispose of food waste and vegetable peels in the trash!
- Install a hair filter in bathroom drains. Never flush hair down the drain when cleaning, wipe loose strands up and throw them away in the trash.
- Flush kitchen drains once a month with salt and hot water. This combination prevents greasy build-up and keeps drains running at full capacity.