Let’s find out the most effective and easiest way to fix kitchen sink clogged past trap.
Well, it goes without saying that one of the most frequently occurring problems faced by most homeowners is definitely a clogged kitchen sink.
To be honest, in most cases, you can easily fix kitchen sink clogged past trap on your own without any professional guidance or help.
Moreover, in order to make things simple and easy for you, we’ve decided the entire process into 6 easy and simple steps.
Trust me, by following the mentioned steps, you can easily fix a clogged kitchen sink past the trap in an epigrammatic span of time.
- Pour baking soda down the drain
- Pour white vinegar down the drain
- Pour boiling water down the drain
- You’ll have to use a plunger in case of clogging still existing
- Unscrew and clean the sink’s p-trap
- Use a plumber’s snake
Frankly speaking, unclogging a kitchen sink isn’t as difficult as it seems to be.
In most cases, clogging can be easily removed by following steps 1 to 4.
You’ll have to expedite steps 5 and 6 only in the case the sink remains clogged even after following steps from 1 to 4.
Furthermore, if the problem still persists after expediting all the steps then you don’t have an option but to call a plumber.
Kitchen Sink Clogged Past Trap | How to Fix
With the help of baking soda, you can deal effectively with kitchen sink clogged past trap.
In order to reap maximum benefits, you need to pour white vinegar post-baking soda.
Before moving to the next step, you need to sit these substances for 30 minutes.
Now, it’s time to pour hot water down the drain.
If you can remove all the blockage from the drain with the help of a plunger on your own then you don’t need to invite a plumber for the same.
If the sink is still clogged then you’ll have to unscrew the P-trap.
Also, you need to check for the signs of obstruction.
In the case of debris, you’ll have to push it down the pipe with the help of a plumber’s snake.
For the best result, work the snake inside the pipe and the time you feel the debris breaking up all you need to do is to pull out the snake slowly.
There could be a lot of residue and debris inside the pipe so you would be needing a bucket or something similar for collecting it.
Repeat the process till the time you’re sure that there is no blockage inside the pipe.
You must keep in mind that at times the blockage may be deeper into the pipeline making things more difficult.
The pipes under the sink and around the P-trap could be clogged with debris if the draining of water is still slow after you’ve tried to unclog the sink on the top side.
Moving further, we would be discussing only 6 steps that will help you in unclogging your kitchen sink drain quickly and easily.
Pour Baking Soda Down the Drain
Well, it goes without saying that baking soda is among some of the best tools for freeing up clogged pipes.
All you need to do is to pour a cup of baking soda down the drain and for the best result we recommend using a funnel.
Allow some time for the baking soda for settling onto the debris.
You may be delighted to know that baking soda not only breaks up the debris in the pipe but also removes the foul smell emitted by decaying debris.
As compared to some cheap chemical cleaners, baking soda is better and safe to work with.
Pour White Vinegar Down the Drain
Trust me, by pouring white vinegar down the drain the outcome can be further enhanced drastically.
What actually white vinegar does is breaks the food residue blocking the pipe.
Another good thing about vinegar is that it will deal effectively with the foul smells if any coming out of the rotten food particles.
In order to reap maximum benefits from the white vinegar, you need to give it time to settle in the pipe.
In fact, when baking soda and vinegar are mixed, the sodium and bicarbonate ions in the baking soda mix with the hydrogen ions in the vinegar.
Sodium Acetate & Carbonic Acid are the byproducts of this reaction.
Decomposition is the next reaction that will happen and the product formed would be carbonic acid.
The end result of the first reaction is carbon dioxide gas and water.
When you’ll mix vinegar and baking soda, bubbles and fumes will come out which isn’t anything but carbon dioxide gas.
If you’re looking for a stronger solution as compared to vinegar then I would suggest you should try Liquid-Plumr 128 oz Full Clog Destroyer Pro-Strength.
After trying Liquid-Plumr all I can say is it REALLY works, thanks to the triple-action formula that it comes with which is capable of easily breaking up most of the clogs if not all.
Furthermore, it is equipped with PipeGuard Technology that prevents grime from sticking to the pipe.
Pour Boiling Water Down the Drain
Another thing that you need to do is to pour boiling water down the drain.
What actually it does is remove the food residue and leave the pipe clean and unclogged.
In fact, you can also find success to some extent in clearing kitchen sink that is clogged past the trap by just pouring boiling water down the drain.
Use a Plunger If Still Clogged
Well, if after expediting the aforementioned steps if clogging still persists then you don’t have an option but to use a plunger to deal strongly and effectively with clogging.
All you need to do is to push the plunger up and down on the sink’s drain.
You’ll have to expedite this step at least ten times in order to completely suck out the clog.
The Master Plunger MPS4 Sink & Drain Plunger for Kitchen Sinks is the one that I recommend to our clients.
(You can check further details on Amazon by clicking this link)
The good thing about this sink plunger is that it comes with four cups of water displacement which in other words means that the product has double plunging power as compared to other cheap plungers out there on the market.
Trust me, I’ve personally used this idiosyncratic plunger and I can affirm confidently and strongly that it can surely unclog your kitchen sink drain even if the clog is past the trap.
Unscrew and Clean the Sink’s P-trap
You might be wondering what if there is still a clog, right?
Well, in that case, I can confidently say that it must be very clogged past the trap of your kitchen sink so it’s high time that you check the underside of the sink where the P-trap is located.
Unscrew the P-trap with the use of a pipe wrench and in most cases, you can do it with your naked hand itself.
Have a bucket handy to catch whatever will fall from the P-trap.
You need to check whether or NOT the blockage is in the trap.
Well, if it is then you need to remove the blockage and your work is done.
On the other hand, if your sink STILL drains slow then you are NOT left with an option but to follow the NEXT STEP.
I’m attaching the self-explanatory video for your perusal.
Use a Plumber’s Snake
If the clog is around the entry or exit of the p-trap, then you could clean it out just with some paper towel and your hand.
But, that isn’t the case always, in fact at times the clog is deeper in the p-trap or beyond the p-trap in the pipe.
In such scenarios, you would be needing a plumber’s snake or a drain auger.
The good thing about such tools is that they are designed to be inserted into pipes.
Moreover, by rotating them inside the pipe, they can reach farther and unclog the pipe.
A plumber’s snake has a lot of potentials and can even reach the blockage and pull it out from there.
Once the snake has caught enough debris you need to remove it slowly from the pipe.
Always have a bucket handy to receive debris from the pipe.
Reinsert the snake into the pipe, keep working with it, and pull out debris it can.
The time snake stops pulling debris your job is finished.
Kitchen Sink Clogged Past Trap | FAQs
In the “FAQs” section, we would be responding to the queries related to the kitchen sink clogged past traps in order to help you make an informed buying decision.
In case, we’re NOT able to cover your question then please feel free to reach out to us via the contact form and we would be more than happy to assist you.
What Are the Different Types Of Drain Clogs?
Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned professional, knowing in-depth about different types of drain clogs would definitely help you in enhancing your cleaning process to a large extent.
As per my knowledge and experience, all I can say is, there are mainly two types of clogs that an average homeowner will experience in his or her lifetime.
Such clogs don’t form everywhere rather they have a couple of fixed places where they form.
The good thing is each of them requires only 15 minutes to locate and clear it.
Let’s have a quick look at each one of them.
Hair Clogs
As the name suggests, hair clog is very common among those household where people have long hairs.
It’s a known fact that long hair and drains don’t mix very well.
The problem with the long hair is that it will wrap around anything in its path.
To further aggravate the problem, soap scum and debris begins to accumulated and enhance the severity of the clogging.
Needless to say, with most clogged drains, you’ll notice water starting to drain a little slower and it progressively gets worse as the time passes.
Grease And Oil Clogs
Frankly speaking, grease and oil clogs are very frequent in the kitchen sink pipe and its vicinity.
The main culprits behind such clogging are greases and oils down the drain.
The quantity does matter but not always.
To be precised, even a small amount of grease and oil pouring down the drain can cause huge debacle in the long run.
When the warm grease and oil travel down the drain and cools then it leads to building up of a clogging ecosystem which becomes stronger over a period of time.
To make the things worst, food and debris particles get accumulated.
Where Are the Typical Drain Clog Locations?
To be honest, you don’t have a fixed drain clog location at all, in fact, it varies.
However, there are a couple of locations that are quite common.
From our past experience, we can affirm that the grease and oil clogs show up in the kitchen whereas the hair clogs are found in the bathroom drains.
Like I always say, hair products and conditioners will only aggravate the problem.
The Drain Plug Lever Assembly Clog
Well, if your bathroom has comprises of stoppers with lever for opening and closing the drain, then you need to be very careful because it would be the first place where long hairs would get collected.
Removing hair from drain plug assembly isn’t difficult, all you need is a couple of tools to clear such clog.
Of course, it requires accessing the drain mechanism under the sink.
Unclogging the drain can be easily done with the help of a small wrench or a pair of pliers.
For your information, such assemblies are generally present on the backside of the sink drain pipe.
Moreover, the lever shaft used to open and close the drain attaches to it.
In general, it’s a short shaft held in place by a hex or knurled nut.
The “P” Trap Clog
Frankly speaking, the “P” Trap is definitely another important area for a clogged drain.
The “P” trap is the fitting under the sink that has got a big dip in it.
Many of the newbies wouldn’t be aware of the fact that the P trap is designed to hold water that basically blocks the drain pipe.
Shampoos, soaps, conditioners, etc have the same impact as grease and oil in the kitchen.
They coat the piping including the p-trap area and are potentially good place for clog to form.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it’s a good area for hair to grab hold of and start forming a clog.
How To Prevent Clogged Drains?
It’s an old saying prevention is better than cure and we too believe wholeheartedly in it.
Let’s have a quick look at some of the preventive measures that you can consider for avoiding clogging drains.
Cutting hair
Make sure that you never cut your hair in the sink without the drain stopper closed.
Also, you need to clean all the hair out before opening the stopper.
Failing to do so can lead to accumulation of hair which will result in an enhanced clogging.
Grease and oil
Try to put as little down the drain as possible to prevent accumulation of debris, specks of dirt, etc.
We recommend having a container handy that you can use to scrap excessive grease and oil into.
Food
It goes without saying that some foods like pasta, rice, etc can get caught in small cracks and crevices, and as a result, build the ecosystem that supports the rapid growth of clogging.
Maintenance
Yes, you heard it, right… maintenance can do the trick for you.
In order to prevent the build up of oil, grease, and soap scum, all you need to do is to pour a large amount of boiling water slowly and gradually down the drain on an occasional basis.
It helps to eliminate the buildup of organic material on the drainpipe walls.
Wrapping Up the Kitchen Sink Clogged Past Trap
First and foremost, I would like to thank you for being with us till the end.
Secondly, I would like to bring to your notice that I along with my core team have put loads and loads of efforts in coming up with this idiosyncratic superlative piece of information.
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Cutting long-story-short, we’ve tried to the best of our capabilities to provide you a feasible solution to the query Kitchen Sink Clogged Past Trap.
I hope we’re able to do justice to the query and you would be benefitted from it for sure.
That’s all, as of now :):)
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