How to Avoid a Clogged Kitchen Drain

 

If you want to keep your kitchen functioning efficiently, it's important to avoid clogged drains. In most cases, this can be done with a few simple maintenance steps.

Food: The most common cause of a clogged kitchen sink is food that has washed down the drain and gotten caught in the pipe system. This clog will likely need to be cleaned with a drain cleaner or plumbing snake.

Non-food items: It's also a good idea to keep non-food items far away from your drains and pipes. Things like eggshells, hair, produce stickers and medications should all be discarded in the trash or compost pile.

Grease: Aside from coffee grounds, grease is one of the top culprits for clogged kitchen sinks. When grease and hot water mix, the greasy material can quickly congeal in the pipes and form a clog.

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To prevent this from happening, it's a good idea to empty your garbage disposal regularly and to make sure that you don't toss any fatty or oily foods down the sink. This will help prevent a clog and save you time and money.

A wire coat hanger can be a useful tool for dislodging a clogged kitchen sink. To use it, simply bend the hook on the end of a hanger until it's straight and long enough to fit through your drain's waste tee.

If this doesn't work, you can try a plumber's snake. You can get these at most hardware stores.

Another option is to disassemble your kitchen sink's drain pipe and P-trap. This will expose a stub out where the snake can be inserted into your drain's pipe.

You can then insert the snake into your drain until you feel resistance from the clog. This will break up the clog and allow it to be flushed out of the pipe.

Baking soda and vinegar: A mixture of baking soda and white distilled vinegar will work to dissolve the clog in your drain. This will clear your drain and leave your sink working properly again.

Boiled water: Boiling a pot of water and pouring it down your drain can sometimes melt a grease clog, but it may not do the trick in every case. Depending on how deep the clog is, it may be best to call in a plumber to do this for you.

Corrosion: Your home's plumbing pipes are prone to corrosion, which can increase your risk of a clogged kitchen sink. This is because as pipes rust, they become rough inside and begin to trap waste.

In addition, old pipes are more susceptible to a clog because they don't always have the same diameter as newer ones. This can cause the piping to be damaged or to have a hard time flowing properly, which can lead to a clogged kitchen sink.

It's a good idea to take a few minutes each week to clean out your stoppers and faucet aerators. Leaving them uncleaned will result in them becoming a breeding ground for bacteria and other contaminants that can easily make their way down the drain.