If you don’t mind getting dirty, there are a few things you can do to fix a clogged sink yourself. Digging into the problem yourself can help you save money and take care of small problems early on. Here are a few steps to fix a sink problem on your own before calling a professional plumber:
First, try to plunge it.
If your sink has two drains, block one drain and fill the other side with a few inches of water. On the side with water, place the plunger over the drain, and work the plunger up and down. Remove the plunger, if you’re lucky, the pressure will break up the blockage and the sink will begin to drain.
If plunging didn’t work, the next step is to open the trap under the sink.
You can use a pipe wrench and remove the trap (the curved part of the pipe). With some sinks, you can do it by hand. Then, empty any water from the trap into a bucket and remove any debris and reattach the pipe.
If you have a plastic drain snake, it’s time to pull it out.
If you still have the trap unattached, you can stick the end of the drain snake into the pipe opening under the sink. On the other hand, if your sink pipes are put back together, you can still use the snake from the sink. Insert the plastic drain snake into the opening as far as possible without letting go. Then pull it back towards you slowly, repeating until you pull debris out of the pipe or realize it’s further down the pipe.
Put things back together
If the drain is still slow, plunge a few times to ensure the blockage doesn’t settle back into the pipe. If everything goes well, water should flow smoothly when you turn the faucet on! If not, the problem may be deeper in your system than a DIY project can cover.
Of course, if these aren’t working out for you, feel free to call your trusted plumber to take care of the clog for you. If you don’t have a plumber to call, Any Hour Services would be happy to help.
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