Recently, my blocked kitchen drain has been getting me down so I turned to the viral clogged sink hack to hopefully fix the problem for good.
Whether it's caused by a build up of food, debris, or even hair in your bathroom drain, a clogged sink can be frustrating at best and damaging to your home at worst. I first noticed my kitchen sink draining slower when I emptied my (body length) hot water bottle and it remained in there for a few seconds longer than it should. This then began to get borderline unsanitary when washing up as the dirty dish water lingered in an unpleasant way.
Unfortunately, ignoring the problem won't make it go away. The sooner you try to unblock your drains to fix the issue, the sooner you'll prevent any significant issues happening to your pipes, or any flooding. The good news is you won't need to call a plumber as there are plenty of ways you can unblock a drain yourself, including this clever clogged sink hack that includes items you'll already have in your cupboards.
If your entire cooking zone is needing a refresh, these 6 stove top cleaning hacks made my gas range shine so they're worth trying to extend your sink unclogging to a full kitchen deep clean.
Here's the clogged sink hack in action
David Phillips, Plumbing Expert at Property Rescue, says "A clogged drain can be a real nuisance and, although it may be tempting to reach for an off-the-shelf cleaner, many of these contain chemicals including sulphuric acid which ends up in landfills and, subsequently, back into our water supply. Instead, reach for the products you already have in your cupboard that are more natural."
I spoke to David Phillips, Plumbing Expert at Property Rescue, who gave me the low down on how to properly unblock a drain before I attempted anything myself. He advised a few different methods that don't involve you spending lots of money or going to the shops - two wins in my book.
Before you try using any chemicals it's always best to try to diagnose exactly what is blocking your drain, and if possible, remove it.
1. By hand
David recommends to "remove or unscrew the ‘nest’ or ‘trap’ from the drain either by hand or by using a pair of pliers and then (wearing rubber gloves to prevent the ick factor) remove any material which may be clogging the drain."
2. Use a plunger
Plungers are useful tools for your toilet too, so it's worth having one in your house.
"A plunger can be bought for next to nothing from homeware stores and even dollar stores and can be really effective. Secure the plunger over the drain and press down hard and then release. Repeat as necessary," says David.
After giving these two methods a try, rerun your tap to see if it's still blocked. If the water is still taking too long to drain, it's time to try out this next clogged sink hack. I used it on my own kitchen sink and it flushed any debris through quickly so I didn't have to invest in any off the shelf un-blockers.
At Top Ten Reviews we love using affordable, natural ingredients as cleaning agents, and we've even learnt how to clean a carpet with baking soda. So, it was only right that we turned to using baking soda in our sinks next.
David has outlined the really simple steps so that you can try out this clogged sink hack without any fuss.
"If your drain needs a bit of extra help, you can make your own de-clogging solution really cheaply. First, pour half a cup of baking powder down the drain and follow this with half a cup of white vinegar. Finally, top this off with plenty of hot water and leave overnight."
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