How to unclog a bathroom sink without a plunger: How to unclog a drain without needing a plunger

How to unclog a drain without needing a plunger

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Water running in the sink
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

It’s always a nightmare when water isn’t flowing freely down the sink, and knowing how to unclog a drain can come in handy. Be it your kitchen drain clogged with daily food gunk, or your bathroom has soapy scum, every household will suffer with a blocked sink at some point. 

But what if you don’t have a plunger or suitable tool at hand? Luckily, you can easily unclog a drain without a plunger (or a plumber!). All you’ll need are just a few basic items that you could probably find in your kitchen cupboard. What’s more, it’s far cheaper than buying drain cleaning products — which aren’t the best for your pipes anyway — or worse still, calling a plumber.  

So if you want your drain free from gunk and in top form, follow these easy steps on how to unclog a drain without using a plunger.

Plus, here are 9 things you didn’t know you could do with borax.

Baking soda and vinegar (Image credit: Shutterstock)

How to unclog a drain with baking soda and white vinegar

1. Start by adding two teaspoons of baking soda to the drain 

2. Follow this by tipping a cup of white vinegar down on top of it. You will start to see the mixture start to fizz or bubble up.

3. Boil a kettle of water and carefully pour the water down the drain. This will help to dissolve the solution, and soften any hard grease in your drains.

Pouring baking soda and vinegar down drain (Image credit: Shutterstock)

How to unclog a drain with saline solution

1. Start by dissolving a couple of tablespoons of salt in water.

2. Then, pour the mixture down the drain and let it sit for 30-40 minutes to give it some time to work on breaking down any grease or food particles.

3. Follow this with carefully pouring boiling water down the sink. Saline solution can break down any oils or grease build-up that is clogging your drain. 

How to unclog a drain with laundry powder

1. Start by adding two tablespoons of biological laundry powder/detergent down the drain.

2. Then, pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain. The soda crystals should easily dissolve grease or fat build-up. Plus, this will leave your sink smelling fresh. 

Washing powder (Image credit: Shutterstock)

How to avoid a clogged drain

Here are some effective ways to stop your sink from getting clogged up:

• Buy a sink strainer — This will prevent any bits of food or gunk going down the drain
• Avoid pouring cooking oils down the sink — Fats and oil do not mix with water so avoid pouring them down the drain at all times. This will only result in a hard build-up of grease that will clog your pipes over time. 
• Clean your sink regularly — Keep using the baking powder or saline cleaning methods about once a month to maintain your drain.

For other cleaning tips, check out how to clean grout on floor tiles to get rid of stains and how to clean every room of your home. 

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As the Homes Content Editor, Cynthia Lawrence covers all things homes, interior decorating, and garden-related. She has a wealth of editorial experience testing the latest, ‘must-have’ home appliances, writing buying guides and the handy ‘how to’ features. 

Her work has been published in various titles including, T3, Top Ten Reviews, Ideal Home, Real Homes, Livingetc. and House Beautiful, amongst many.

With a rather unhealthy obsession for all things homes and interiors, she also has an interior design blog for style inspiration and savvy storage solutions (get rid of that clutter!). When she’s not testing cool products, she’ll be searching online for more decor ideas to spruce up her family home or looking for a great bargain!

How to unblock a sink with or without a plunger

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So your sink’s blocked? Don’t immediately panic, as it could be surprisingly easy to fix. So there’s no need to call the professionals just yet, as we think we can get your water flowing freely again in a jiffy. Follow our step-by-step guide on how to unblock a sink and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done. You’ll save yourself some money, too!

From the kitchen sink to the downstairs cloakroom, these handy tips apply to sinks of all styles.

How to unblock a kitchen sink

(Image credit: Future PLC/Lizzie Orme)

1. Block up the overflow

Create an effective seal by blocking the overflow. It’s easiest to do this using a dishcloth or old towel.

2. If you have a plunger, use it now

Place the sink plunger over your plughole, cover with water – this will help you to create an airtight seal – and grip the handle with both hands. Pump up and down to create suction until the blockage is dislodged.

More kitchen tasks tackled: How to clean a dishwasher – plus how to add dishwasher salt and rinse aid

If going at your sink with a plunger isn’t working, or you don’t have one…

How to unblock a sink without a plunger

(Image credit: Future PLC/Rachael Smith)

1.

Add baking soda and vinegar

This low-cost solution uses two ingredients you’re likely to have in your kitchen cupboards – baking soda and vinegar. Add a couple of teaspoons of baking powder, followed by a cup of white vinegar. Bicarb of soda can also be used in place of baking.

2. Try a common hangover cure

Alka-Seltzers are great for mild blockages and nasty smells. Pop a couple down the plughole and then pour in a cup of vinegar. Wait a few minutes and then blast with the hot tap to flush through the blockage.

3. Pour in a little biological washing powder

This is another idea that will leave your sink smelling sweeter. Pop two tablespoons of biological washing powder down the plughole, followed by a kettle’s worth of boiling water. This should remove any fats or grease that have built up. Soda crystals are similarly effective.

4. Insert a long wire

Get hold of a long flexible wire tool. Feed it into the drain, so it bends around the pipe and clears what’s blocking it. You could buy one or use a straightened wire coat hanger – just be careful of any sharp edges!

Buy now: Drain Cleaner 4.65m, £11.50, Wickes

And if none of those work…

5. Unscrew the U-bend and clear out the blockage by hand

If all that fails, you need to take the U-bend apart. Don’t call a plumber – this job’s easy enough to take on, but do change into some old clothes, because it’s going to get mucky and you’ll be working in a very small space. Expect to spend anything up to an hour on it.

Put on a pair of rubber gloves, put down some old towels and slowly unscrew the U-bend or bottletrap using a wrench. It can come in several parts so take a picture first – that way, you’ll know how to put it all back together later.

Have a bucket or an kitchen bowl ready to catch any water as you pull it apart, and clear out the pipework. Remember to wash out any dismantled traps or pipework in another sink, bath or using the outside tap – otherwise you’ll end up with wet feet!

How to unblock a bathroom sink

(Image credit: Future PLC/Tim Young)

Try the methods above, but we do have a specialist tips for bathroom sinks, which can get clogged with hair.

1. Unblock sink hairs with a magic tool

Rid bathroom drains of pesky hair with the ingenious Drain Weasel tool, which snags and removes hair. insert the wand in the plughole and hold it by the sleeve. Rotate the handle 360 degrees until your feel resistance. Carefully remove and discard the wand, saving the main part for next time.

Buy now: The Drain Weasel 2 disposable plughole cleaning brushes, £8.99, Lakeland

Hopefully that’s worked for you. But before we go, here are a few more of your sink unblocking questions, answered.

Trouble in the loo? Follow our guide on How to unblock a toilet

Can bleach unblock a sink?

A combination of bleach and boiling water can break down some type of clog – but it won’t eat through hair, for example. We would recommend you try the above methods first, as we think you’ll find them more effective and they are certainly less harmful to the environment.

A plumbing expert strongly stresses how careful people should be when working with any chemicals, especially in standing water. If pouring chemicals into a water blockage you are effectively mixing a bowl full of toxic chemicals that could be easier to splash around.  Chemical solutions generally work best on drains that are draining, whether they are draining slowly or near completely block but not 100 per cent solid.  In the case of a totally solid blockage  plunging or taking apart the trap is best.

If you do use bleach to unblock a sink, make sure you read the instructions on the bottle first. Wear gloves and keep your skin covered in case you accidentally splash yourself.

(Image credit: Future PLC/Nicholas Yarsley)

How do I unblock a sink full of water?

If you are using a plunger, the fact that the sink is full of water won’t be a problem, since you’ll need it there to create an airtight seal (see above). The weight of the water might also act to push the blockage through.

However, if the plunger method doesn’t work, you’ll need to empty out as much water as possible. Use a saucepan or jug to scoop it out and then pour the water into a bucket. A really clever trick is using an empty water bottle, using the suction method to draw the water up from the blocked sink into the bottle. Then simply squeeze the excess water into another water outlet. After you’ve  reduced the water level then try the other methods of unclogging the sink that we’ve listed.

Right, time to have a go yourself. Trust us – unclogging the sink yourself really isn’t tricky as you think, and you’ll save yourself a small fortune!

How to clean a blockage in the sink – folk and professional remedies

A blockage in the sink is a common occurrence, even if the hostess maintains perfect cleanliness in the house / apartment and thoroughly flushes the sink from grease and dirt, and prevents food debris from entering the drain system. How to clear blockage without effort? It’s simple – call a plumber and believe that he will come on time and do his job efficiently. But instead, you can do it on your own, especially since there are a lot of options.

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  Contents: 
1. How to clear a blockage in the sink with a plunger
2. How to clear a blockage in the sink without a plunger
3. Special tools for cleaning blockages in the sink
4. Mechanical cleaning of blockage in the sink
 

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How to unblock a sink with a plunger

A very popular, well-known plunger for a long time is a real lifesaver in moments of sink clogging. The principle of its operation is simple – under pressure, a water hammer is created in the drain pipes, which contributes to the passage of accumulated dirt.

The plunger must be attached with the rubber side to the hole in the sink so that it is completely closed. Then 3-4 sharp shocks are made, during which you can hear the characteristic gurgling sounds in the pipes. Then the plunger is removed and, as a rule, the water from the sink begins to actively drain. If the drainage of water goes badly, then you need to repeat the procedure with a plunger. If dirt / debris / food particles rise up, they must be removed immediately – if they enter the drain again, they will again create a blockage.

A plunger is the answer to the question of how to clean the sink in the bathroom, because this method is suitable for any drain systems, including toilets.

How to unblock a sink without a plunger

If there is no plunger in the household, then you can use folk remedies, the basis for the preparation of which is ordinary baking soda. It is this product that has the ability to dissolve fats, which causes the cleaning of the drain system in the sink. So, the blockage in the sink can be removed in the following ways:

• Pour three tablespoons of baking soda into the drain hole in the sink, then rinse everything with hot water, preferably boiling water;
• Pour three tablespoons of baking soda with vinegar in an amount of 100 ml, wait 15 minutes – during this time the chemical reaction in the vessel will end. Then the solution is poured into the hole of the sink and after 3 minutes everything is washed with hot water;
• Take equal amounts of ordinary washing powder and baking soda, pour into the sink drain system. Then pour 200 ml of vinegar into the same place and after 2-5 minutes rinse everything with hot water.

These cleaners are great for even tough clogs, and baking soda works on both kitchen sinks and bathroom sinks. If the blockage happened in the kitchen, then most likely the cause of this will be fat accumulations – they are easiest to dissolve with vinegar, so in this case it is better to use the second recipe from the above for the cleaning procedure.

Sink blockage cleaner

There are a lot of such products on the market – they are aggressive, guarantee almost instant results. The task is to choose a cleaning agent that would not only quickly and efficiently remove blockages in the sink, but also be safe. We suggest using the products of the manufacturer “Nevskaya cosmetics” – a means for cleaning pipes from blockages “Mr. Chister”. It has excellent quality characteristics:

• removes clogs in 15 minutes;
• dissolves even hair and grease, but is completely safe for pipes;
• disinfects;
• eliminates unpleasant odors, even if the blockage in the sink is already old.

In addition, the Mr. Chister pipe cleaner is equipped with a special cap that prevents children from trying to taste the contents of the bright bottle. Before opening the bottle, you will need to press the cap and, holding it in this position, turn it – this is the only way the remedy will open.

See how quickly “Mr. Cleaner” dissolved the hair, and did not damage the spoon and plastic cup at all:

Removing a blockage in the sink is not difficult, but it is much more expedient to simply not let it happen. According to statistics, blockage occurs due to fat accumulations in the pipe, and they are taken just from the inner surface of the sink. This suggests that when cleaning the kitchen space, attention should be paid not only to tiled surfaces, but also to the sink – with special tools of the Mister Chister line from the manufacturer Nevskaya Kosmetika, even frozen fat can be removed and blockage can be prevented.

Mechanical drain blockage

This is a rather unpleasant procedure, but sometimes you have to carry it out. In kitchen sinks there is such a detail as a siphon – it retains various dirt, preventing it from forming a blockage in more distant pipes. Modern sink installation systems involve the installation of a removable siphon, so you just need to unscrew it, clean it and rinse it.

But mechanical cleaning of the siphon will be needed only if you use a plunger or folk remedies – they do not remove the unpleasant odor and the effect of them is short-lived. But professional products last longer and eliminate the need to manually clean the siphon.

It is quite possible to clear the blockage in the sink, you just need to choose a convenient way.

How to clean the blockage in the sink

How to clean the washbasin at home so as not to wait for the water to drain – find out at UNIAN.

How to clear a clogged sink at home / depositphotos.com

Unfortunately, clogged sinks are a common occurrence faced by many people. In such a situation, sometimes even a plunger does not help, and chemical agents are far from always effective. UNIAN will tell you how to clean the blockage in the sink with improvised means.

Earlier we talked about how to wash a down jacket in a washing machine.

Why the sink is clogged – the main reasons

Causes of clogging / depositphotos.com

Clogs are most often formed in the pipes extending from the sink in the bathroom or in the kitchen. Sometimes even a seemingly harmless thing can be the cause. Among the most common causes, experts identify:

Video of the day

• food;

Particles of food waste fall into the “knee” – a curved part of the pipe, which is located immediately below the washbasin. There they settle to the bottom and, accumulating, form a blockage. Eliminating it is simple: either remove part of the pipe and clean it by hand, or use chemicals that soften the debris. It is best, of course, to install a grinder, then the leftover food can be washed off into the sink, and not thrown into the trash.

• fat;

Moreover, fat is not only from food of animal origin, but also vegetable oil. By itself, fat creates a sticky residue, which “attracts” the remains of the products, which is why a “garbage plug” is formed. The situation is aggravated by cold water, in which the fat solidifies and becomes thicker. The ideal option is not to drain the fat into the sink at all, but to use a separate container for this.

• soap.

Such a product, in addition to its main function – removing bacteria – also has another, reverse side. Combining with food residues and third-party liquids, soap forms a wet, dense mass, due to which a blockage appears. That is why it is better to wash your hands in the washbasin, and use the sink in the kitchen only for washing dishes.

Bathroom clogs are most often caused by hair. The unequivocal and confident recommendation of plumbers is to use a mesh and clean it regularly.

Clogged sink – what to do and where to run

How to clean a clogged sink / depositphotos.com

ways to clear blockages. There are three in total:

• chemical;
• mechanical;
• folk.

Can be used individually or together.

The chemical method is a clog-fighting variant in which various agents come into play: acids, alkalis, powders, gels and liquids. They are easy to find at any home improvement store. All you need to do is read the information on the label and strictly follow the instructions. As a rule, such products are poured into the drain hole for 30 minutes, and then washed off with hot water.

IMPORTANT : never lean over the sink while the cleaning process is in progress, even if the drain makes unusual noises. You will not get any new information from there, and a chemical burn is easy.

Mechanical is the manual removal of blockages. The first to enter the game is a plunger – a tool that is in every home. You need to fill the sink with 1/3 hot water, and then use the plunger to “drive” the water like a pump. Do it as vigorously as possible.

Read also:

But sometimes it happens that the plunger is powerless, then heavy artillery comes to the rescue – a three-meter plumbing cable. It has a handle on one end and a spear-shaped tip on the other. You dip the cable into the sink and push until you get rid of debris.

If your house is old, and the pipes were laid during the reign of Tsar Peas, then you need to use the cable carefully so as not to spoil anything.