Boring thread alert: clogged drain issues

[1GoldenSun]

I promise I did a thorough Google search before coming to you guys, but there doesn't seem to be an answer to my problem.

One side of my kitchen sink has been having drainage issues for a few months. Usually I put a little Draino in and it clears up. I had standing water in the sink this morning, so I poured quite a bit of Draino in the sink. But it's just sitting there. I think possibly a LITTLE has gone down the drain, but only a very tiny bit over the course of the day.

My problem is the instructions on the bottle say not to use a plunger and Draino in conjunction with each other (maybe in case of splashing?) and I'm afraid to try any other remedies because I don't know what's safe to mix with Draino. I can't just have a sink partially full of Draino. I really think it would take several days for it all to go down the drain at the rate it seems to be going.

Any ideas? There are lots of ideas online regarding how to deal with clogged drains but nothing on how to get rid of a sink full of Draino.

 

[kimblebee]

Do you have a guess as to why it’s clogged? If I were you, I’d try doing a snake of some kind to see if you can get anything up. Is it possibly a tree root? Maybe pay someone to come and send a camera down the drain to see if it’s a big or small problem.

 

[dyna]

How about using an old cup bowl whatever you got that you won't miss use it to bail the water into a bucket, flush it down toilet. To get the last bit out of sink use an old rag or towel to soak up the water an just throw it away. Yes you might want to wear rubber gloves while doing this an throw them away when done too.

DH will not use drain cleaner if plunger won't open clog (it had to do on a double sink as the air tend to just go up the other side of sink.) Need a 2nd strong body to hold sink stopper in place an even put heavy towel over it.

When plunger does not work he goes gets his snake might be called a drain snake. You can buy them at home depot lowes Walmart might even have them.

Once drain is open do what I do an put half cup baking soda an half cup vinegar down drain once a month at least followed by a pan of boiling water. Let the vinegar an baking soda sit as long as you can tho.

 

[1GoldenSun]

I really think it's just a buildup of food residue. I can't get my kids (or my husband) to grasp the importance of scraping their plates adequately before putting them in the sink. We had rice last nice and that seems to be a problem food because everyone thinks that a few uneaten bites of rice will just go right down the drain.

I sure hope it isn't a tree root, but if tis persists I may have to call a plumber and rule that out. I can imagine that's a problem that would only get worse and should probably be addressed sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, I think I will try bailing out the sink, and then buy one of those snakes and give that a try.

 

[lynxstch]

We had that issue a few years ago. We had the plumber come and go down in the basement. Fortunately there is a cleanout that goes up to the kitchen sink. They ran their 'roto rooter' type thing thru it and cleared it up. I am very careful never to put anything with oil or grease in there anymore, and haven't had any issues. I do run Draino down it every other month to keep it clean.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We had that issue a few years ago. We had the plumber come and go down in the basement. Fortunately there is a cleanout that goes up to the kitchen sink. They ran their 'roto rooter' type thing thru it and cleared it up. I am very careful never to put anything with oil or grease in there anymore, and haven't had any issues. I do run Draino down it every other month to keep it clean.

We use empty crystal light containers for our grease stuff and then put the lid on and throw it away. You can't usually get every bit of grease since your food contains it but when we cook up ground beef or make fried pork chops or cube steaks, etc all of that grease goes into those containers to be thrown away later.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I really think it's just a buildup of food residue. I can't get my kids (or my husband) to grasp the importance of scraping their plates adequately before putting them in the sink. We had rice last nice and that seems to be a problem food because everyone thinks that a few uneaten bites of rice will just go right down the drain.

I sure hope it isn't a tree root, but if tis persists I may have to call a plumber and rule that out. I can imagine that's a problem that would only get worse and should probably be addressed sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, I think I will try bailing out the sink, and then buy one of those snakes and give that a try.

Do you have a garbage disposer in your sink?

I'll be honest we have a garbage disposer and we don't scrape every piece of food off our plates, rice included, and we don't have issues. I mean some things, especially larger chunks go in the trash though. Now our sink is 4 1/2 years old so the more years it goes on sure more build up.

I haven't tried it but they do have tablets you can use periodically to keep the drains cleaner and also smell better if you have issues with rebound smells.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I promise I did a thorough Google search before coming to you guys, but there doesn't seem to be an answer to my problem.

One side of my kitchen sink has been having drainage issues for a few months. Usually I put a little Draino in and it clears up. I had standing water in the sink this morning, so I poured quite a bit of Draino in the sink. But it's just sitting there. I think possibly a LITTLE has gone down the drain, but only a very tiny bit over the course of the day.

My problem is the instructions on the bottle say not to use a plunger and Draino in conjunction with each other (maybe in case of splashing?) and I'm afraid to try any other remedies because I don't know what's safe to mix with Draino. I can't just have a sink partially full of Draino. I really think it would take several days for it all to go down the drain at the rate it seems to be going.

Any ideas? There are lots of ideas online regarding how to deal with clogged drains but nothing on how to get rid of a sink full of Draino.

 

[Micca]

OK, don't do this but it worked for me. I had a bathroom sink that got clogged with hair, I straightened out a wire coat hanger and wiggled it around pulling out several clumps of hair--and yes it was gross. It opened the drain and the problem was solved. I found out later that drains made in modern times use PVC piping and that something as sharp as the hanger could poke a hole in the pipe.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Hahaha, it may indeed be time to call the man.

And I love any advice that starts out with "don't do this."

 

[Turksmom]

If you fill the opposite side of the sink with water and then pull the plug, it will sometimes release the clog.

 

[Poohlove]

I had this issue a while ago with my tub, turned out to be a buildup of hair which was remedied by snaking. I too used drained and was scared to use a plunger so I left it to the experts.

As a monthly maintenance thing I use baking soda and vinegar in my sinks and tub.

 

[DCLPrincess]

OK, don't do this but it worked for me. I had a bathroom sink that got clogged with hair, I straightened out a wire coat hanger and wiggled it around pulling out several clumps of hair--and yes it was gross. It opened the drain and the problem was solved. I found out later that drains made in modern times use PVC piping and that something as sharp as the hanger could poke a hole in the pipe.

Haha. That's exactly what I did when my shower drain was clogged. The hair was very close to the surface and yes it's gross. My drain is not so modern so hopefully that's not an issue.

 

[bcla]

Really the best thing to remove most clogs is some physical method, whether it's a snake (aka drain auger) or what professional plumbers use. Most of my clogs or slow drains are in the sink or shower. Once I get to it I'm usually pulling out a huge clump of hair, where caustic drain cleaners often aren't terribly effective. Also once those caustic chemicals go down the drain, it's not safe to attempt a physical removal until it works its way down.

The other thing that might be considered for the DIY'er is an enzyme and/or bacteria based drain buildup remover. I've seen some weird stuff (almost a black ooze) inside a drain after I've taken it apart. This is all the assorted organic materials (food, oil, dead skin, lint, hair) that gets into a drain and partially decompose into the gray to black gooey mess. A manual drain snake doesn't necessarily remove that well. It would probably just punch through stuff like that but not necessarily clear it out much. A professional drain cleaner with jaws might slice and dice through something like that, but in the end a treatment is really needed to keep it clean. This is the version sold under the Drano name:

 

[happybaker]

Someone told my husband about these plastic drain snakes that have teeth on them. He used them on the bathroom sink and tub to get out the hair. They're cheap and you can toss it if it's really gross.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dr-Rooter-Drain-Snake-2-pack/986196174

 

[EveDallas]

Someone told my husband about these plastic drain snakes that have teeth on them. He used them on the bathroom sink and tub to get out the hair. They're cheap and you can toss it if it's really gross.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dr-Rooter-Drain-Snake-2-pack/986196174

I second trying these. Opened up my sink drain in the blink of an eye.

 

[Skippy918]

Someone told my husband about these plastic drain snakes that have teeth on them. He used them on the bathroom sink and tub to get out the hair. They're cheap and you can toss it if it's really gross.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dr-Rooter-Drain-Snake-2-pack/986196174

I have this one. FlexiSnake Drain Millipede Hair Clog Tool for Drain Cleaning https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00871R9Z8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_65TJCbGHYZ92D

It works great and gets all the hair.

 

[jo-jo]

Did it drain?

My MIL had a double sink that was clogged on one side. I was empty boiling water (make spaghetti) on the clear side and you could hear gurgling from the other side. We dumped lots more water and it cleared.

We had a bathroom drain that drain slow for years, we did the draino or the vinegar/baking soda method over the years and it worked for a bit, then back to slow draining. On Christmas Eve, it stopped draining at all. I used all the vinegar in the house. I plunged until I had a blister.

Day after Christmas I found green gobbler at homedepot. Used one pack, and it helped a little. Used second pack and it was amazing. Drain hasn't worked this well in forever.

 

[sam_gordon]

This should be really simple. Since it's just one side of your sink (I'm assuming the other side drains fine), the clog is actually pretty close to the drain. If you look under your sink, it should look similar to this:

The two drains may both meet in the middle, but it should be very similar. I agree with getting a disposable snake and going down the drain with it. If you can't get to the store to get a snake, you should be able to put a bucket under the juncture points and unscrew the pipe. Then clean it out and reinstall it.

If neither sink drains, the problem is probably at the trap (the U shaped part at the bottom). Again, you should be able to unscrew it (put a bucket under it) and make sure it's clear. There should be some water in it (that's what keeps sewer gas from coming up), but not much. If there's just a little bit of water in it, the clog is above the trap. If there's a lot of water, it's further down the drain and you might need a plumber (I would try snaking as far as I can, but then that's it.

 

[firefly_ris]

This should be really simple. Since it's just one side of your sink (I'm assuming the other side drains fine), the clog is actually pretty close to the drain. If you look under your sink, it should look similar to this:

The two drains may both meet in the middle, but it should be very similar. I agree with getting a disposable snake and going down the drain with it. If you can't get to the store to get a snake, you should be able to put a bucket under the juncture points and unscrew the pipe. Then clean it out and reinstall it.

If neither sink drains, the problem is probably at the trap (the U shaped part at the bottom). Again, you should be able to unscrew it (put a bucket under it) and make sure it's clear. There should be some water in it (that's what keeps sewer gas from coming up), but not much. If there's just a little bit of water in it, the clog is above the trap. If there's a lot of water, it's further down the drain and you might need a plumber (I would try snaking as far as I can, but then that's it.

This. ^^^

In addition I'll be a voice of dissent.... Drano is not great for your pipes, especially if you're using it on a regular basis and you have PVC pipes anywhere, or if you have a septic system. Two of our close friends are professional plumbers (both residential and industrial) and they both visibly cringe when Drano is mentioned. Get the clog undone and then maintain by training family members not to let things that absorb a ton of moisture (rice) down the sink, and maintain with a bit of vinegar and baking soda. Keeps the drain clear and kills odors too.