Do you have a kitchen sink that is draining slowly or not at all? If so, you'll want to know these tips for getting the water flowing again.
Know How The Pipes Work
It helps to understand what is happening under the sink with the drain. There will be a drain pipe coming from the sink that flows into a p-trap. This p-trap is actually shaped like a U, which keeps a small amount of water along the bottom. The water acts as a way to stop sewer gas from coming up through the drain so that you don't have bad odors in your home.
Know How To Disconnect The P-Trap
You'll need to disconnect the p-trap from the drain. This can be done by disconnecting the p-trap by using a wrench or twisting any plastic nuts by hand. Make sure to have a bucket underneath the p-trap, because water will come out from the trap and make quite a mess. This will give you easy access to your drain so that you can get rid of what is in it.
That p-trap may be filled with food or debris that is stuck in the drain. You'll want to empty out the p-trap into the bucket to get rid of it.
Know How To Snake The Drain
There are plastic drain snakes that you can purchase from your local home improvement store, which have sharp edges that are designed to break apart any debris on the inside of the pipe. You'll want to stick this into the drain from the sink to loosen the debris, which allows it to fall into the bucket beneath the sink. You can also use a drain auger to get the job done as well.
You can also do the same thing for the drain pipe that is going to the sewer on the opposite end of the p-trap. There is typically a pipe that angles downward coming from the wall, known as a gooseneck. You can unscrew the gooseneck from the pipe to give a clear opening for you to snake. Do the same process of snaking the drain to remove loose debris.
Know How To Reassemble The Drain
You can now start putting all the pieces back together to reassemble the drain. Attach the gooseneck to the main sewer pipe, then slip the p-trap back on to connect the drain and gooseneck together. Test the drain by running the water through the pipe and see if the water now flows faster.
For more information, contact a company like True Quality Plumbing.
