Homestep

Water

The sink will not drain

Start with the trap under the basin. Most kitchen clogs are grease and scraps sitting in that short section.

  1. Bail the standing water into a bucket. A plunger needs a shallow seal of water, not a sink about to overflow.
  2. Cover the overflow with a wet cloth and pump the plunger straight, without breaking the seal on every stroke.
  3. If it still sits, put a bucket under the trap, loosen the slip nuts by hand or with channel-lock pliers, and clean the bend. Reassemble it with the washers in place and test with a liter of water.
  4. Hard grease wants hot water after the path is open, not before. Boiling water in PVC softens the fitting.

Do not mix lye, acid, and bleach. If the sink, the floor drain, and the toilet all run slow together, the clog is in the stack. A clean trap will not fix that.