Unclog Bathroom Sink

Do you have a clogged bathroom sink? Don’t fidget in stress. It’s normal, and you can fix it easily.

Bathroom sinks are probably the most used home hardware. We wash our hands and face quite a lot of times in a day which can clog our sinks.

Sometimes it’s the bacteria build-up (grease, soap, handwash, face wash, shower gel) that clogs the sink pipes, and other times, it’s your hair or baby’s toy ball or something that gets stuck in the drain.

Whatever the cause, you need solutions, right? Let’s jump to that.

How to Unclog a Bathroom Sink?

Unclogging bathroom sinks seems easy from afar, but it’s actually a work of patience.

You’ll have to figure out what’s blocking the drain, and then you’ll have to look for tools that are a good fit for the unclogging.

We can use natural ingredients like vinegar or baking soda or, if the sink clog is serious, we’ll have to go for tools like a plunger, auger, snake drain, or hair snake.

Let’s begin with the DIY Mixtures to unclog bathroom sinks.

DIY Unclogging

DIY unclogging is your way to go if you think that you can clear the drain by yourself. It includes different mixtures (natural that you can make at home and chemical-based that are ready-made).

Here’s how it’s done.

Natural Remedies

• Drain Hot Water through the Pipes

Pouring hot water down the drains is by far the most used and common way to let the pipes loose what’s congesting the space inside. Please remember to avoid using ‘boiling’ water. It can melt the plastic pipes.

You can keep the temperature high enough to do the job but not damage the pipes. I’d suggest you do it with 5 to 10 seconds of breaks.

• Use Baking Soda Mixture

Using baking soda to unclog the bathroom sink helps you get rid of the stubborn bacteria. It has properties to counter scum and stains.

You can begin by mixing the baking soda with vinegar or water (equal amounts) and make a thick mixture. Drain it down the sink and leave it for half an hour. It’s a good time to work the sink’s unclogging.

Our final step would be to rinse the mixture with hot water and pour it down the pipes. It will have bleaching effects, and you’ll get an unblocked sink in just minutes.

• Caustic Soda or Sodium Hydroxide

Caustic Soda has been used for cleaning purposes for ages. You can mix it in water but make sure it doesn’t touch your skin because that will cause irritation or redness.

Mix the solid into the water with a spoon, saving any chances of direct contact. Once it’s mixed, let it pour into the bathroom sink drain and leave for 15 minutes.

It has the same properties as baking soda, but the effect is x2 more, so you can use either.

That’s all for the top 3 DIY solutions that you can prepare at home. Let’s get to the tools now.

Unclogging with Tools

If your bathroom sink is clogged and you’ve tried all the other possible solutions to unclog it, then you need tools to solve the issue.

The common tools that plumbers use to clean the drains are plunger, auger, snake, or hair drain. You can also keep them at home and make use whenever needed.

Let’s talk about how to use them without professional need.

1. Plunger

When you’re unclogging your bathroom sink, either basin or bathtub, using a cup plunger is a wise choice. The plungers use the force of compression to unclog

Steps:

1. Seal the sink overflow outlet temporarily.
2. Let the tap open.
3. Let the water fill the sink.
4. Cover the drain with a plunger’s cup.
5. Use the plunger’s force and push it downwards.
6. This will help water flow with force and push down anything that’s stuck.

A plunger will break down and flush the clog with pressured water supply. Once you’re done, turn the tap on for water flow.

2. Auger

Drain augers are also a good tool, but they may be a bit of a challenge for beginners. You’ll have to watch a tutorial or follow detailed how-to guides to use the auger properly.

Steps:

1. Uncover the overflow outlet of your bathtub or sink drain.
2. Use the auger’s shank to explore the drain
3. When the shank stops going in, start rotating the coil.
4. The shank wire will come with hair or the clog.

Augers are mainly used to drill out hair or other things of the sort.

3. Snake Drain

Snake drains are widely used for serious unclogging. Before using the snake, you must ensure that all the parts of the sink are working properly.

For starters; Take out the stopper and other pipes, clean them and fix them again.

Steps:

1. Remove the overflow outlet
2. Go to the drainpipe
3. Insert the snake device’s shank in the drainpipe
4. Turn on the snake
5. Keep a balanced pressure on the machine
6. Don’t go into depths more than 10 inches
7. The snake drain will do the job

Snake drains are electrical devices, so you won’t have to do much other than measuring when to stop and dig in again.

Next time you have a clogged sink drain, remember to try these tips or tools but call a professional service provider if the problem seems difficult to solve.

The drains get clogged when we delay the cleaning process or don’t take action right away.

How to Clean Bathroom Sink Drain?

One of the major reasons why our bathroom sinks get clogged is improper or irregular cleaning. So the first thing here is to start checking on your sinks regularly.

1. When you wake up and wash your face, leave the hot water open for as long as you’re brushing your teeth. Remember that you don’t have to wastewater in the process. If the brushing takes you more than 5 minutes, turn the tap off.

2. When you shampoo your hair, make sure there is no hair in the drain. Even if there are, pick them up and throw them in the dustbin. If you leave the hair in the drain, it’ll get clogged, and then you’ll have to put much more effort into unclogging it.

3. Whenever you have time, put a spoon of baking soda in the drain and leave it for 15 minutes (if you do the above-mentioned steps regularly). Otherwise, the time to let the baking soda rest should exceed 15 more minutes. So it can handle the clogs.

4. Clean your P-trap weekly. The first step to begin the cleaning trap process is by removing the cover. Take it out, wash it and look for clogs in the pipe. If there are any clogs, use a spiral wire or plunger. If not, just clean the pipes properly and put the trap back.

Cleaning your drains in time will save you from bigger troubles like making a mess while trying to unclog the drain or calling for plumbers and giving them hefty fees.