When it comes to kitchen cleaning, not everybody realizes the importance of how to clean a kitchen sink drain. If your sink isn't prone to clogs and doesn't develop musty odors, you can probably keep it clean using only water. Pour in another kettleful of boiling water to thoroughly flush and clean the drain. If neither the plunger nor the cleaning of drain unclog the sink, then Plumber’s snake also known as Snake Auger can be used to report this. Then replace and run water through it. Start by pouring boiling hot water down your drain then add ½ cup of baking soda. To make this simple DIY sink deodorizer and cleaner, put all of the baking soda into the drain and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. They love standing water and decaying matter, such as food, which isn’t unusual to find inside a kitchen sink. You can flush the drain with hot water on a weekly basis to keep it clean. In only six simple steps, you can unclog a drain that no longer flows as freely as it once did. You can look for a plumber in your area online or in your local newspaper. How to Unclog a Drain With a Snake. They may not clean out any mineral deposits in the drain. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. The tougher the clog, the longer it needs to sit. It's okay if some of the baking soda doesn't make it directly down the drain, as it can be washed down with the vinegar. To clean your kitchen drain, boil 3 cups of water, and pour it down your drain slowly and carefully. Enter baking soda and vinegar. A slightly alkaline powder, it can dissolve mineral deposits and organic materials such as grease, which is slightly acidic i… If left untreated, a blocked drain can clog the entire pipe, preventing water from draining properly. Maintenance: Jones suggested pouring very hot water down the drain at least once a week. Simply put 2 tablespoons of biological washing powder down the plughole and then flush through with boiling water. If it won't reach the sink, use an adapter to connect it to the sink faucet. After 5 minutes, pour 3 cups of cold water down the drain, then do a final flush with 3 cups of boiling water. Especially if you have spent all of your time and effort trying and failed miserably. If you don't have a stopper in the sink, pour 3 to 4 cups of boiling water down the drain each week to dissolve grease buildup in the pipes. This is one of the easy, tried and accurate ways to unclog a sink. Baking Soda and Vinegar This DIY remedy is a great way to naturally clear your blocked drain in the kitchen or bathroom sink. Usually sludge collects in the P-trap, which can cause unpleasant odors. Unscrew this and look inside. After living in the city for 30 years, EC moved to the countryside. When we wash dishes, the water not only helps us get our dishes clean, but it also performs this flushing function. You can also try using a professional drain cleaner to remove residue and grime. Keep in mind: continuously using your bathroom sink, bathtub, or kitchen sink while knowing that there is a mess of black gunk in there will only build up the mass of the black gunk. We tend to have plumbing issues in our old home. You can also ask friends or neighbors for recommendations on a good plumber in the area. For best results do this a second time. When you have buildup in the drain pipes, whether it be food residue in the kitchen sink drain or soap scum in the shower drain, you must remove it. Step 1: Use baking soda to clean drains. Pour the vinegar and water mixture after the baking soda, then close the drain with its plug. Wait 5 to 10 minutes and boil another kettle of water during this time. If you are worried about sustaining damage to the drain, you may want to contact a plumber. Bathroom sinks and tubs usually become slow and blocked for different reasons than kitchen sinks, so you have to deal with them in different ways. Then release the stopper and let the force of the water flush the pipes clean. The simplest fix could be as easy as boiling water—boil a medium-size pot once or twice per week, and pour down the drain. Run hot water through your garbage disposal after use to wash away excess debris. Pour at least one tablespoon of salt into your bathroom drain followed by 14 cup of plain white vinegar, and let it sit for an hour. Those smells may be due to the different items, such as hair and soap residues, which gradually build up inside the drain. In the morning, flush the pipe thoroughly with water from the faucet. For bathroom drains, hair and scum from personal products most often form the clogs. How to Keep Drain Pipes Clean [Expert Tips] Figuring out how to keep drain pipes clean can be one of the most frustrating tasks to get right. The first and most important factor in preventing clogged drains … When it gets clogged, every fixture in your home is affected, so it is a problem that just can't wait. Keep your pan or bucket underneath; dirty water will flow out. He writes about life in the mountains, dogs, plants, and cooking. Unlike kitchen sink waste pipes, blocked basin pipes are probably not due to fats and oil buildup. Whenever your sink begins draining slowly or develops an odor, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the pipe and then add 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar. Start with the basics: Clean the sink with your usual cleaning solution, and use a pipe brush to scrub around and inside the drain. If you notice bad smells regularly from your kitchen drain, and you have old metal drain pipes under the sink, replacing them with PVC may solve the problem. Bring the hose indoors. Reach behind the drain pipe under the sink to find the pop-up nut. Monthly use of the enzyme drain cleaners can prevent clogs from forming. Major Systems; How To: Unclog a Sink Drain Put the phone down! When you have buildup in the drain pipes, whether it be food residue in the kitchen sink drain or soap scum in the shower drain, you must remove it. People use their kitchen sinks a lot but overlook the importance of cleaning it, owing to their busy schedule. Question. Otherwise, you will eventually have a clogged drain that does not empty properly. Community Answer. How to Clear a Blocked Basin Waste Pipe. Place the plunger over the drain such that the suction cup forms a vacuum. This DIY drain remedy is a great way to naturally clear your blocked drain in the kitchen or bathroom sink. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. If you haven’t had any luck with the above methods, you could try a drain snake. In that case, use bleach to clean and disinfect the pipes and dissolve clogs. If your drain has already become clogged or backed up, an enzyme cleaner is not the route to take. Clogged drains can emit a horrible smell that tends to linger inside your kitchen for some time. They can either be hooked into the pivot rod that lifts them, or simply rest on it. Wait for all the water to drain out of the sink or tub, then pour the bottle of Liquid Plumr slowly down the drain. How to clean and unclog a kitchen sink. Follow this guide to remove grease from your drain and save your home from water damage. Rinse with a gallon of hot water to which you've added 1/2 cup of salt. Close or cover the drain and let the mixture work in the pipe for 3 to 5 minutes. Spray carefully at first, in case it backs up, and then turn up the pressure to ensure that you clean drain pipe build up. And because the water flow down the drain is also slowed, clogs in the drain lines can form more easily. This article has been viewed 42,555 times. Over time, your kitchen drain can collect food debris, grime, dirt, and other residue. In this article, we’ll show you how to unclog a kitchen sink using a plunger and drain snake to clear up all but the most stubborn drain clogs. Fat, Oil and Grease (or FOG): Fatty substances are the number one cause of kitchen sink clogs and slow draining sinks. As the fat becomes solid, it coats the inside of the pipes. Follow by pouring a mixture of 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup of boiling water again. Then pour a cup of baking soda and an equal solution of vinegar and water (1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar). Drain grease can be a big problem in your home. All of that gross gunk ends up passing through the sink drain, dirtying it up. Slowly pour the powdered cleaner down the problem drain. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. If you follow the steps of this article and still can’t clear the blockage, don’t hesitate to call in a plumber. Sometimes water alone isn't enough to keep pipes clean, particularly if they are old or connected to your local sewage plant. METHOD 6 USE A PLUMBER’S SNAKE. DEAR MR. HandyPerson: My kitchen sink has two basins, one I use for washing dishes and the other for draining them. Pipes Under the Kitchen Sink (Photo courtesy by scttrknndy from Flickr) Importance of Plumbing Pipes. Once it has a significant time, clear it with a pot of boiling water. With your tools and instructions for your particular sink, unscrew pipes under your sink. A small buildup in your kitchen or bathroom sink pipe can slow your drainage to nothing. The P-trap is that curved pipe that you see beneath any sink in your home. "Specific steps how there is a bio-friendly drain cleaner. [1] X Research source If your pipes are PVC or plastic, 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celcius) is the hottest temperature water you can pour down the drain to prevent damage. Luckily, there are a few simple steps you can take to prevent and clean a bathroom sink drain. For cleaning bathroom drains, ordinary table salt can be a very effective ingredient in your toolbox. This makes a P-trap the number-one location of clogs in the sewer system. It’s really easy to make mistakes that will lead to clogged drains. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. The best way to keep your sinks clean, is to keep your drains clear. Boil the water. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 42,555 times. Don’t be afraid to “Turn the kitchen sink on and step back and let the water flow,” Scaife says. Alpine Maids has received Angie's List Super Service Award for three years in a row since 2016 and has been awarded Colorado's "Top Rated Local House Cleaning" Award in 2018. Odors emanating from the sink drain affect the atmosphere in the kitchen or bathroom in more ways than one. Clean your drain with baking soda as soon as you notice the water is draining slowly. Cover with the drain plug and … Follow it up with warm, soapy water. First, empty your sink … In that case, use bleach to clean and disinfect the pipes and dissolve clogs. Start by pouring boiling hot water down your drain then add ½ cup of baking soda. Hundreds of natural cleaning blog posts, books, and magazine columns recommend cleaning slow kitchen drains by pouring one cup of baking soda down the drain followed with one cup vinegar. Regularly cleaning your kitchen pipes may save you time by preventing other problems. If your disposal is broken, either replace it or remove it, since a non-functional disposal will not be able to empty out rotten food. Check the drain trap for clogs. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. If you have a garbage disposal, always run cold water down the drain while you use it to flush the ground-up food down and out of the drain pipe. Cleaning Sink Pipes: How to Clean Plumbing at Home. The enzymes work to remove buildup by eating through it. The job requires ingredients that combine to dissolve the buildup without requiring you to take apart the drain. When you're washing dishes, take that gasket out and put it in the dishwasher, then scrub around it with a soapy sponge.". Once a month, pour 12 ounces of chlorine bleach straight down the drain at the end of the day. Bring the water to boiling temperature (212 degrees Fahrenheit, 100 degrees Celsius). Method #4. Slick PVC pipes won't clog as easily, since food and grease will have a harder time sticking. – they go down the drain easily in a liquid state (think hot grease in a pan or dissolved fat in warm dishwater) BUT as they move through your pipes the fat cools. By using our site, you agree to our. There is a small amount of water in the p-trap that blocks sewer gas from escaping as shown in the picture below, this can cause your drain to stink. Plumber’s snake is a flexible auger that is used for cleaning sink and bathtub drains. Allow the pipes to drain into a bowl or a small bucket. Dirty pipes harbor numerous bacteria, but they also smell terrible. Be careful not to let the bleach sit in the bowl of the sink, especially if the sink is stainless steel. This sluggish water movement leads to stagnant odors. Adding a bit of dish soap to the hot water can help to break down grease in the pipes. Go under the sink and place a bucket under the pipe to catch excess water ; Unscrew the connectors on the PVC pipe that holds the P-trap (the curved piece of pipe) to the vertical and horizontal drain pipe. Empty the mess into the trash can, and keep your hands and pipes wiped clean with paper … This article was co-authored by Chris Willatt. Food gets stuck at the curve of the drain under the sink where it's hard to reach with a hook, so try a plunger to clear it. Pour in the hydrogen peroxide and watch as the drain begins to fizz. Once a month, pour 12 ounces of chlorine bleach straight down the drain at the end of the day. Clean the drain every time you wash dishes to maintain it once it's clean. You can also use a wire mesh filter on top of your kitchen drain to keep clog-causing food out of the drains. Small objects. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/d6\/Clean-a-Kitchen-Drain-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Clean-a-Kitchen-Drain-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/d6\/Clean-a-Kitchen-Drain-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid8766838-v4-728px-Clean-a-Kitchen-Drain-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":259,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":410,"licensing":"