Sink Drains Slowly? Why Chemical Cleaners Make It Worse and What Actually Works
A sink that drains slowly is the first warning sign of a clog. Ignore it and you get a sink that does not drain at all, usually the night before company arrives. Here is what is actually happening in the pipe and how to fix it for good.
Where the clog usually is
Bathroom sink: hair and soap scum wrapped around the pop-up stopper, right below the drain. Kitchen sink: grease that cooled and hardened in the P-trap or the horizontal run behind the wall, often mixed with coffee grounds and rice. Tub and shower: hair caught at the strainer or trap.
Why chemical drain cleaners are a bad idea
Caustic cleaners generate heat that softens PVC joints and pits old cast iron. They rarely dissolve a full clog; they usually create a channel through it so the sink drains for a week and then stops again. And when a plumber arrives, that standing chemical water is a hazard we have to deal with before we can work.
What to try yourself
Pull the pop-up stopper and clear the hair. For a kitchen sink, put a bucket under the P-trap, unscrew it, and clean it out. Follow with a kettle of hot water (not boiling on PVC). If the sink is still slow, the clog is further down the line and needs a cable machine.
What a plumber does differently
Professional drain cleaning uses a cable with the right cutting head for the pipe size, followed by a camera to confirm the line is clear. For grease-heavy kitchen lines and lines with tree roots, hydro jetting scours the pipe wall instead of just punching through the clog.
Slow drain? We are in Newark today
Straightline Plumbing and Guttering clears kitchen, bathroom, laundry and main drains across Delaware at a flat price. Call (888) 480-9811.
Related service: Drain Cleaning · Drain Cleaning in Newark