…and the kitchen sink

Today’s post will be about … kitchen sink. When I came back from work, I was told that water does not drain out from the kitchen sink. Classic. Typically problem was in the food disposer because it stuck. Typically in this case I use the hexagonal key and rotate it and then I the food disposer and usually the problem will go away.

But this time starting the food disposer will just move water to the connected sink. After trying different things I noticed that with time water level is decreasing. This is typically a good thing because it means that it is not completely blocked and there is a chance that with time water will move parts of the clog and increase the open area in the clog.

After accessing the problem I found 2 problems. The first problem is that it looks like the garbage disposal was blocked and the second problem is that the pipe below the joint of pipes from both sinks is also blocked.

I fixed the first problem by draining as much water as possible from both sinks and periodically starting the food disposer. Keep in mind that you cannot keep the food disposer on for long periods of time because it can overheat. Also, you need to watch out for water in the connected sink. If the bottom pipe is blocked and you start the food disposer then there is a high chance that there will be a water fountain in the connected sink. I recommend putting a big bowl upside down to cover the drain.

Then I was trying to fix the clog in the U-shaped pipe. The first thing I tried was to put as much water as possible in both sinks to create a lot of pressure but it didn’t help. Then I drained water again and started a food disposer a few times to reduce water as much as possible. Then I put baking soda and vinegar into it to help dissolve food. But it didn’t help much.

The I decided to take off a U-shaped pipe. But I quickly realized that I could disconnect only 2 parts of the T-shaped connection. The last part was glued to a pipe that takes water out. However, I found that I could take off the L-shaped pipe from the food disposer to the main pipe.

But keep in mind that before you start doing anything with water you need to prepare. You will need a lot of paper towels and a bucket or two. Ideally, when you unscrew anything there should be a bucket under it.

Anyway, I took it off and managed to spill only a cup of water and I have one side of the U-shaped pipe open. Now I need to push something down to break the clog. Unfortunately, the opened side of that pipe was quite long, and anything I tried was too short or not flexible enough.

Then I took an old DVI video cable, cut one side off, and tried to push but it constantly stuck somewhere below. I found a stiffer DVI cable but it also stuck somewhere. And there is another hint: when you push something into a pipe, make sure that pipes do not bend because they can break. In my case, the bucket was holding the whole assembly quite well.

Anyway, I tried anything and nothing helped. So I assembled everything back and put in a little bit of water to check if it was fixed. Then I enjoyed a water fountain because I forgot to put a bowl over the drain. The problem was still there.

After that, I gave up. I don’t have the proper tools to and there is a chance that I will break something. So I cleaned up everything including myself and decided to go to sleep thinking about whom I would have to call Saturday morning.

But then my relative found another thing to try. You need to put in a little bit of water then plug the second sink and start the food disposer. But make sure that the plug is plugged drain tight because the food disposer creates some pressure. The idea is that there will be enough pressure to push clog.

I didn’t have a plug, so I used paper towels to plug the drain as tight as I could. Then I put more water in the food disposer’s sink and started the food disposer. And then I enjoyed a sweet victory after 3 hours of fighting.

I hope it helps someone.