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Unclogging your Bathroom Sink

How to Keep Your Drain Flowing

Mar 9, 2009 Jennifer Brister

One of the most frustrating problems a home owner can have is a clogged bathroom sink. Fortunately this can be easily fixed with a little hard work and elbow grease.

Bathroom sinks are notorious for getting clogged with materials such as toothpaste, hair and or shaving cream. These items can cause a blockage in your sink that makes the drain flow slowly or not at all. There are a few things you can do, however, to keep your bathroom sink flowing properly.

Run hot water down your drain for about 30 seconds once a week.
Pour one tablespoon of salt down the drain followed by 1/4 cup of plain vinegar.
Pour 1/2 cup of liquid bleach down the drain on a monthly basis.
Pour 1/2 cup of commercial drain cleaner down the sink, according to packaging directions.

If your sink does get clogged, there are a few things you can do to get things flowing properly again.

Unclog a Slow Drain

To clean a drain that is flowing slowly, but not completely blocked, you can use a combination of baking soda and water. Put 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain and then follow with 1/2 cup of vinegar. The mixture will create a foam that will loosen the clog. Wait 30 minutes and then rinse with hot water for about 30 seconds.

Unclog a Blocked Drain

One tried and true method of clearing a blocked drain is by plunging. You can use a regular toilet plunger, but it's much easier to purchase a sink plunger from the local department store that is made for this exact problem. Put 2 to 3 inches of water into the sink and then place the plunger over the drain. Plunge quickly up and down about 10 times. Remove the plunger and the water should drain away. You may have to repeat this process a few times before the drain becomes completely unclogged.

Unclog a Stubborn Drain

When plunging doesn't work, you may have to move on to a more invasive method to unclog your bathroom sink. Purchase a drain auger from the hardware store to use on your blocked drain. This is a long piece of metal with a small hook at the end. You should slide the auger down through the drain, turning it as you push. The auger should either push the blockage through the pipe or poke a hole in the blockage, allowing it to open up. Once you find the blockage, you can use the hook at the end of the auger to pull it up through the drain and remove it from your sink.

Make sure that you rinse your sink with hot water after using these methods to unclog your drain. This will flush away any debris that remains in the pipes.

The copyright of the article Unclogging your Bathroom Sink in Home Management is owned by Jennifer Brister. Permission to republish Unclogging your Bathroom Sink in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.