Common Causes of Blocked Kitchen Sink and How to Unclog

Kitchen sinks are highly susceptible to getting clogged due to many reasons. While cooking, there are so many things you have to wash, slice, peel, and drain. Over a period of time, some tiny particles of food also might get stuck in the sink. Generally, you can only become aware of the situation when instead of draining, the water starts rising in the sink and threatens to overflow. The sight of the water rising in the sink can fill anyone with dread, especially if you are in a hurry or you were just about to cook a big meal for your family.

While some kinds of blocked kitchen sink can be easily handled and unclogged in less than a few minutes, you might have to get professional help from a plumber in some cases. In order to manage the situation better here are some tips and guidelines that might help you unclog drains:

Some Common Reasons Why Kitchen Sinks Get Blocked

In order to be able to get rid of a clog in your kitchen sink, you need to know about how clogs form and why. Understanding this can also help you prevent blocks and save a lot of time, effort, and money on your part. Given below are some major causes of blocks:

1. A high percentage of kitchen sink blocks are caused due to food. When you wash food plates in the sink, some small food particles might go down the pipe and become trapped under the sink. These food particles are stopped from going any further and entering the rest of your plumbing system. As a result of this, they may accumulate and cause blocks.

2. Apart from food other small items, like bottle caps, may also enter the sink pipe if the stopper is missing. These too are trapped midway and can only be removed manually. Other items like produce stickers, paper towels or napkins, plastic spoons etc. might also be the reason behind a blocked kitchen sink.

3. A little-known cause of a clog in the kitchen sink might be the accumulation of grease in the pipe over time. If this is not cleaned regularly, it forms sticky sediment in the pipe which further traps food particles and aggravates the situation. This is one of the toughest clogs to remove as it is almost impossible to dissolve liquid grease with a cleaning solution.

Kitchen Sink

How to Unclog a Kitchen Sink in Easy Steps

Clogged kitchen sinks are one of the most common plumbing problems faced by people. However, with a little amount of caution, an unpleasant situation can be averted. For example, since food particles are one of the most common causes of blocks, you must make sure that plates are completely cleared of food before they are put in the sink. Extra care must be taken that extra food doesn’t enter the drain. Additionally, since grease blocks are hard to remove, oil and greasy liquids must never be poured down the sink.

If you are attempting to remove a clog on your own, the first thing that you must try is pouring boiling hot water down the drain. This might get rid of the accumulated waste and unclog the blocked kitchen sink. However, boiling water must never be used if you have plastic pipes and the heat can damage them. A cup-shaped plunger might do the trick with just a few fast strokes if the block is not too far along the pipe. There are a number of cleaning solutions also available in the market which can be used regularly to get rid of blocks.