How to Unclog a Stopped-Up Sink

A sink drain clogs easily.

Sink drains can easily clog from items such as food scraps, grease, hair, hair gel and toothpaste. Sometimes pouring a kettle full of boiling water down the sink dissolves the clog. Sometimes commercial drain cleaners will do the trick. However, these solutions work better on a drain that is just running slowly. Clogged drains can be difficult to clear. To remove stubborn clogs, it's smarter to zero in on the problem and clear the drain manually. It won't cost any money and it takes a lot less time than trying possible remedies. And, when you're done, your sink drain will run efficiently.

Things You'll Need

• Bucket
• Safety glasses
• Rubber gloves
• Adjustable wrench
• Old toothbrush
• Old rags

Instructions

1. Remove all items underneath the sink. Place a bucket under the drain trap. The trap is the U-shaped piece located beneath the sink. When you remove the drain trap, the bucket will catch the gunk, so you don't have a mess to clean up.

2. Put on a pair of safety glasses and a pair of rubber gloves. Wrap a rag around the slip nut above the drain trap. Use an adjustable wrench to just loosen it. Loosen slip nut below the drain trap in the same manner. Hold onto the sink trap while you finish loosening both nuts with your fingers. The trap will come away from the pipe.

3. Clean most of the gunk from the inside of the drain trap with an old toothbrush. Finish the cleaning by pushing a rag through one end of the trap. Pull the rag out the other end. Repeat as necessary to remove all the gunk.

4. Slide the drain trap back in place between the pipe ends. Line up the threads of the pieces so they're straight.

5. Hand-tighten the top and bottom slip nuts until they are finger-tight. Place the rag around the top nut and tighten it with the adjustable wrench. A half turn should do the trick. Tighten the bottom slip nut the same way.

References

• Housekeeping Channel: For Dummies® -- Unclogging a Sink Drain