It has happened to all of us. You are washing your hands and notice that the water just doesn’t seem to be draining. With as much hair, debris, and product that goes down our sinks and drains, it’s no surprise that sometimes that it can get a bit clogged. This is a common plumbing problem and thankfully isn’t one you need to rush out and call the plumber for.
If you are faced with an untimely clogged drain, here are several ways to address it.
1. Use a Homemade Drain Cleaning Solution
The first and easiest method of unclogging a drain is to gather a few household items and pour a simple homemade cleaner down the drain.
This DIY cleaner involves pouring ½ cup baking soda, then ½ cup white vinegar, and finally a full tea kettle of boiling water down the sink. The combination of these products helps break down build-up within the drain pipes. This concoction can also be used more regularly for the general maintenance of your drains as well.
2. Pull Out the Zip-It Tool
If pouring a homemade cleaning solution down the drain doesn’t clear up the problem, it’s time to dig a little deeper. A Zip-it tool has jagged edges that catch hair and debris to pull them out. Since the tool is so thin it can be used in sinks with or without pop-ups. This is a fairly inexpensive tool for clearing clogs.
3. Remove the Drain Pop-up
If a Zip-it tool wasn’t able to clear the drain, you may have to move to fully removing the sink pop-up. The pop-up is designed to plug a sink or bathtub but its shape leads it to collect hair and buildup over time. Removing a pop-up is typically an easy and simple process.
4. Clean the Sink Overflow
Specifically, with bathroom sinks, the overflow opening helps divert water into a drain if the level gets too high. This area is also important for drainage as the air that comes into the drain at this point helps the water drain faster. Clearing this area as well can assist with any draining issues.
5. Plunge the Sink
As a last effort, you can also use your bathroom plunger to plunge a sink whether it’s a slow drain or a complete drain stoppage. The high suction of the plunger is useful for powerfully dislodging anything that may be blocking the water flow. To make this method the most effective, cover the sink overflow with tape or a rag to create a stronger seal.
It may take using all of these methods until one does the trick. It also might require repeating some of the methods such as using the cleaning concoction again after you have plunged the sink to further dissolve anything that was dislodged in the process.
Although if you have tried all five and you still are not seeing an improvement, it might, unfortunately, be time to call the professionals.
Happy Fixing!