Thursday, 23 February 2012

Plumbing Tips For How to Unclog a Sink


Normally, any clogging will occur between the sink plug facet and the pipe leading the water out to the sewer. More specifically, this problem will usually be located in the P-trap.

The P-trap is the point in the piping where the water going down from the sink takes a turn upwards and then to the side. Visually, this part of the piping looks somewhat like the letter ‘P’ – thus the name.

The problem usually occurs in this part because it is the point where the water (or anything clogging it) must work against the force of gravity to continue through to the pipe immediately leading to the sewer.
Before attempting to take anything apart, do try to use a plunger and see if this will remedy all of your clogging woes.

If you are unsuccessful... read on...

A lot of times, you can remove the P-trap with a wrench and simply remove the materials clogging the system (or to get to that really expensive item of jewelley you accidentally knocked down the sink plug).

If the P-trap is clear after removing it, then you most likely have a problem with the tail piece of the piping (the bit closest to the exit leading into the wall and down to the sewer) or, more problematically, there may be a problem with a pipe further down on the sewer line.

If the blockage is in the tailpiece, you will need to use a piece of equipment called a Drain Snake. Remove the tailpiece and put the snake into the sewerline to try and dislodge whatever is blocking the Drain Snake. The snake should grab hold of the clogged matter with the teeth-like spines that run all the way along this tool, which will (in theory and practice!) get rid of the problem and re-instating the regular flow of your water system.

What tools do I need to make this happen?
  • Drain Snake
  • Wrench

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