How To Clean A Sink Drain? 6 Proven Ways To Clean Sink Drains Fast

You probably have baking soda, salt, or a vacuum at home. Even if not, the simple soap that you have one hundred percent will help you clean the sink drain. Cleaning a sink drain is most likely not on your list when you start cleansing. It is why, sooner or later, you will face such a problem as a clogged sink. And the longer you do not clean the sink drain – the more garbage accumulates. And it contributes to the reproduction of microbes and contamination of the water passage.

So, the water flows much more slowly when the pipe gets clogged. Why does this happen? There are several reasons for this:

• fat deposits on the walls of the pipe;
• a lot of waste when washing dishes;
• breakdown of plumbing parts.

If you face one of these issues, you must fix it immediately. Of course, you can use the services of a plumber, but how about saving money and doing it yourself? Moreover, there are many ways to clean a sink drain, so why not?

Methods For Cleaning A Drain

There are many methods for cleaning the sink drain, and they are divided into the following categories:

1. Folk method;
2. Chemical method;
3. Mechanical method;

So, the first method is folk, the easiest one, but despite this, it is one of the best ways to clean a sink drain. No tools or unique products from the store are required for this. You will have enough home remedies such as salt, baking soda, vinegar, etc. All you need is to make a solution from them, and that’s it. You can wash the sink drain.

The second method is chemical that is cleaned with the help of special chemicals. These can be various liquids, gels, and powders sold in hardware stores. It is very convenient to use because it requires no effort. However, before using different tools, you should read their instructions and follow them. Usually, such agents are very toxic, so they should be used cautiously.

And the last method – is mechanical, for which you need to use various cleaning agents with physical force. For example, you can do this with a plunger which creates pressure in the pipe. Or you can use a plumbing cable. It can fight all contamination thanks to its nozzle at the end, which cleans up the pipe of dirt.

It does not matter which of these methods you will use because they all have a good result. But also, remember to use appropriate tools for it. They include:

• Plunger;
• Rag;
• Vinegar;
• Brush;
• Baking soda;
• Drain snake.

Using such tools will make cleaning a drain much faster and more efficient. Therefore, it is recommended you prepare the necessary cleaning products before starting cleaning. It will save you time at the beginning of work.

6 Ways For Cleaning A Sink Drain

Cleaning the sink drain with ordinary detergent will not be enough. You need to use more effective methods to clean the drain from dirt. The fact is that after a long time of not cleaning the sink drain, this place becomes a breeding ground for microbes and bacteria, which you must eliminate. And if you do not wash your sink drain, even drain flies can appear there. Therefore, I have prepared a list of ways in which you can do this:

1. Using Salt And Boiled Water

This method is suitable for not very serious sink drain problems. However, you can use it several times, and the effect will improve. For this, you need:

1. Put a kettle with water to warm;
2. While your water is heating, add half a cup of salt and pour it down the sink drain;
3. When the water boils, pour it over the salt;
4. Next, turn on the faucet’s hot water and thoroughly wash the sink drain.

This method is suitable because salt can fight bacteria and clean the pipes from the inside, and boiling water helps dissolve everything better. So it is why its solution helps you with cleaning a drain.

2. Using Dish Soap

Soap can also get rid of dirt. However, it is often used for minor pollution and to maintain cleanliness. For this, you need:

1. Pour some liquid soap into a container;
2. Add warm water to it;
3. Pour this mixture down the sink drain and wait a couple of minutes;
4. After that, turn on warm water to rinse the drain.

Although liquid soap does not have the same chemical properties as soda, it fights dirt very well. Therefore, you can even wash your sink drain with this solution after every dishwashing.

3. Using Baking Soda And Vinegar

Baking soda and vinegar are very well known for their cleaning properties. It is the best way to clean the sink drain than other chemical methods. Their mixture can kill all germs, remove the unpleasant smell, and make your sink shiny. And the most important thing is that they are natural and can not damage the sink drain. So, to make such a mixture, you need:

1. Take a pack of soda and pour it into the drain hole. Try to push the soda in as deep as possible;
2. Then slowly pour vinegar there. As a result, a chemical reaction will occur, and you will hear a hissing sound;
3. Wait 5-7 minutes for the chemical reaction to produce results.

Repeat if you still have debris in the sink drain after this procedure and do not see results. Usually, with heavy contamination, you need to repeat this procedure 2-3 times.

4. Using Drain Snake

A drain snake is a good tool for cleaning a drain. An extended lacing can be bent into shape and cleaned in a drain. So, to use it correctly, you need to:

1. Take the drain snake and lower it into the pipe in a circular motion;
2. If you feel that the drain snake is resting on something, try to keep turning it to break the blockage;
3. After that, take it out and clean it;
4. Do this until you feel that the blockage has disappeared.

When you understand that you have cleaned everything, turn on the hot water and rinse the sink drain with it. It is so that the pipes are thoroughly cleaned of debris.

5. Using Plunger

It is the best way to clean a sink drain if chemical methods are not effective for you. Thanks to the vacuum created by the plunger, all dirt is instantly freed from your pipes. However, for cleaning a sink drain to be effective, you need to use this tool correctly. For this:

1. You must cover the drain so that air can not pass;
2. Next, make up and down movements without removing the plunger;
3. Remove the plunger and turn on a stream of hot water.

This tool will help eliminate any dirt in the sink drain. It is straightforward to use and instantly gives you the desired result of cleanliness.

6. Via Dismantling The Siphon

Do not help chemicals? It is not a problem. You can disassemble the siphon yourself. Maybe this idea scares you because you are not a plumber and do not understand. But, there is nothing complicated about cleaning a sink drain this way. For this, you need:

1. Put the bucket under the siphon, where it bends. It is a place where the most significant amount of dirt is;
2. Since the siphon is attached to the two pipes with nuts, you need to loosen and remove it;
3. When you unscrew the siphon, rinse it with hot water and apply a degreasing solution to it;
4. The pipe, unscrewed above the bucket, should also be washed and checked to see if any dirt is stuck;
5. After cleaning the siphon, put everything in its original position and check whether your water drains typically. 

Perhaps this method will seem very unpleasant, but it is effective and can help you to avoid bad kitchen smells from the dirt sink. With its help, you can clean the pipe yourself from the inside and be sure that you wash a sink drain effectively.

Summary

As you can see, the home method is enough to get a good result, and it is unnecessary to call a plumber. However, you should remember that cleanliness depends on both these methods and your thorough cleaning. If you do not want to spend a lot of time cleaning a clogged sink drain, you should clean the sink after every use. But if you do not have the opportunity to wash the sink drain so often, now you know ways to make it clean even with heavy contamination.

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