Very random plumbing problem!

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

So yesterday I had a small yankee candle burning in my bathroom (on the sink) for long enough that all of the wax was melted. The wick started smoking a lot so, like an idiot, I picked it up...and immediately burned my fingers and dropped it...right in the sink. Melted wax everywhere and a lot of it went down the drain. If my fingers didn't hurt so much, I might have thought to run the water right away to flush out the wax before it hardened in the u-bend but I did not. And now my sink is pretty much clogged.

What on earth am I to do? I live in an apartment and really don't want to have to call the landlord or the plumber. I tried boiling some water and slowly dropping it down to melt the wax and it's just coming up little by little into the sink.

 

[DwarfMaster]

I did this once.....I'll spare you the embarassing details.

Unravel a wire coat hanger & stick it down there. Make enough of a hole & let the hot water run. Worked for me.

 

[sorcerormickey]

Here's what I would do.....remove the u-shaped piece of pipe and stick it in the freezer for a little while. You should be able to pop the wax out in chunks. If the wax doesn't pop out, you should be able to scrape it out.

If you cannot remove the u-shaped pipe, well then I'm not sure what to tell you.

 

[Kirby]

Here's what I would do.....remove the u-shaped piece of pipe and stick it in the freezer for a little while. You should be able to pop the wax out in chunks. If the wax doesn't pop out, you should be able to scrape it out.

If you cannot remove the u-shaped pipe, well then I'm not sure what to tell you.

My husband's a plumber and he said to take off the P-trap which is the name for the u shaped piece. He doesn't know about the freezer bit but he said if the pipe is made out of brass, to be careful, you could poke holes into it. He said that if the wax would not come out to go up to Lowes or Home Depot and get another one. They aren't that expensive, under $20.

 

[Amlee]

I did this once.....I'll spare you the embarassing details.

Unravel a wire coat hanger & stick it down there. Make enough of a hole & let the hot water run. Worked for me.

If you can make a hole and drain the water in the sink. Run some water through the coffee pot with just water. I mean get it HOT! Slowly pour the boiling hot water down the pipe. You might have to do this more than once, to get it all out.

 

[JCJRSmith]

You probably have what amounts to a wax plug in the P-trap. Luckily, they are easily replaced. Just put a bucket underneath it before you remove it to catch any water that may run out.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Now that you probably have it solved, or know what to do...

How big was this candle? to have soooo much wax to fill an entire sink drain?

It was probably somehwat clogged already and the wax just sealed it. Which will make it harder to clean. I reccomend replacement as well.

Mikeeee

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Thanks for all the advise. I'm going to put a pot of water on the stove and get a hanger right now! I'm sure it all needs to be replaced, as the pp said but like I said, I don't own the place so it's not my job to do it! If I can't solve the problem with a hanger, I'll see about getting a new piece but I might be better off just calling the plumber that my landlord uses.