Get yourself out of double trouble
A double kitchen sink offers versatility in a busy kitchen, but it also means more food can find its way into the drain and lead to annoying clogs. Luckily, learning how to unclog a double kitchen sink with standing water and free up grease buildup is a simple fix. Put on your best cleaning gloves and grab your trusty plunger—it’s time to unclog a drain.
Over time, food scraps that fall off plates—or that kids throw into the sink while practicing their basketball skills from the other side of the room—can start to clog a kitchen sink. Any cooking oil or fatty food is especially likely to form into a clog, making it essential to know DIY methods for clearing a drain.
The signs of a sink clog include:
Water that is slow to drain or doesn’t drain at all
An unpleasant odor coming from the sink
The garbage disposal isn’t working
The water in the sink is brown or murky
If you don’t want to spend your weekend unclogging your sink, you can always hire a plumber to complete the job. The cost to unclog a drain is between $150 and $350, with most homeowners paying an average of $250.
Unclogging a double kitchen sink is not dissimilar to unclogging a single one, and you might be able to fix the source of your problem with a tried-and-true plunger. Here are seven ways to unclog your double kitchen sink and get it working again.
The most common cause of a clogged kitchen sink is a clogged garbage disposal. Safety first; shut off the garbage disposal completely, so it doesn’t accidentally turn on while you’re working. In addition, arm yourself with heavy-duty gloves—it’s better to keep yourself protected from whatever mysteries lurk there.
If standing water is on the sink’s disposal side, you can try unclogging the garbage disposal by plunging the drain. If that doesn’t work, try resetting your disposal.
To reset your disposal, press the red reset button on it. Wait ten minutes, then try running water and turning the disposal on to ensure it’s in working order. The red button should stay pressed and flush against the unit. If it pops up, you may have another issue at hand, such as an electrical problem.
You can also try manually turning the blades if it’s jammed. Simply use an Allen wrench to turn the blades via the small hole on the bottom of the disposal. If this doesn’t work and you suspect your disposal is in good condition, move on to the next course of action.
A plunger isn’t just for the bathroom; you can also use a plunger to unclog a sink. This handy tool works using water pressure, so with a double sink, you’ll need to cover the unclogged side with a rag or a basket strainer to seal it. Fill the clogged sink with 4 to 5 inches of water (don’t use chemical cleaners here), and plunge the drain for 20 to 30 seconds.
Pop the plunger off the drain to see if the water drains easily. If not, try plunging a few more times.
If plunging doesn’t work, it’s time to take more intense measures and clean the P trap, the curved drain part under the sink. Place a bucket under the sink—water will inevitably trickle out when you remove the P trap (and it’ll likely be dirty).
Dissemble the trap by loosening the slip nut and releasing the P trap. Remove both the slip nut and the nut at the bottom of the waste tee. Clean out any debris from the P trap.
Inspect the P trap for any cracks or damage, and replace it if necessary. Then test the water drainage and test for leaks.
Still clogged? Let’s try removing and cleaning the trap arm next. Remove the P trap and use pliers to remove the slip nut attached to the wall. Slide off the trap arm from the drain line stub-out.
Grab any debris you can find in the pipe stub-out. You might want to use a long, sturdy object like a screwdriver. Replace the piping, and test the water again.
Giving your drain a good cleaning might be enough to clear grease and debris causing a clog. You can make biodegradable drain cleaners that won’t damage your pipes. If you don’t have any of the following items, make a quick shopping trip.
Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of vinegar down each side of the sink. Cover the openings and let the mixture work its magic for about 10 minutes. Run a gallon of warm water down each side to finish flushing debris.
Mix up a batch of baking soda and salt in a 2:1 ratio—1 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of salt should be plenty. Pour the mixture down the drain, and let it sit for a few hours (now is a good time to run some errands, so you won’t forget to avoid using the sink).
When you’re back from the market or soccer practice, pour some boiling water down the drain.
Note: Only use boiling water if you have metal pipes. PVC pipes will soften or melt upon contact with a liquid above 140 degrees.
If cleaning the trap arm and P trap was unsuccessful, you can snake the drain. Loosen the setscrew on the snake and pull out about 8 to 10 inches of cable. Once the cable is out, retighten the setscrew.
Spin the snake into the drain line. Continue turning the snake even when met with resistance; this could be the clog! You might also hit a curve in the drain, in which case keep turning the snake but add additional cable by loosening the setscrew and retightening it once the cable is out.
Once you feel the tension in the cable loosen, you’ve likely unclogged the drain. Turn the crank counterclockwise to retract the snake’s cable. For extra credit, run the snake through one or two more times to ensure you’ve gotten every clog.
Reassemble the pipes, and run warm water through the sink
Follow these tips to prevent a kitchen sink clog from occurring and save yourself the effort of having to unclog a double kitchen sink.
Keep food, coffee, and grease out of drains; clean off dirty plates by wiping food into the trash rather than the garbage disposal.
Pour liquid grease, like bacon fat, into an old coffee container or jar and seal it until it’s solid enough to toss.
Use a mesh drain strainer to catch food scraps.
The methods we’ve outlined here are doable by even the novice DIYer, but we understand that time is valuable, and it makes more sense to hire a local plumber. You might also need to call in a pro if you can’t unclog the drain, as that can indicate a clog elsewhere in your home’s pipes. A plumber can access more powerful tools, such as an auger.
While you can put Drano in a sink with standing water, most plumbers don’t recommend doing so. It usually doesn’t help to clear the clog, and you’ll end up with a sink full of standing water plus a toxic chemical—which is very unpleasant to deal with and best handled by a professional.
You can leave baking soda and vinegar in the drain overnight, which can work well for tougher clogs. Just be sure to pour warm water down the drain in the morning to finish up. You can also perform this task as a part of your regular drain cleaning, which you should try and do once per month.
Boiling water helps unclog a drain, but usually only with a harder abrasive such as baking soda or vinegar. On its own, it isn’t the most effective tool. In addition, you shouldn’t use boiling water if you have PVC pipes, as it can soften or melt them. Use a plunger or enlist the help of a pro if you have plastic pipes.
Nope, baking soda (and vinegar) are safe on your PVC pipes; the acidity isn’t strong enough to break down the material. As mentioned above, just be careful with boiling water—anything over 140 degrees can soften or even melt your pipes, creating a much bigger problem than a clog!
The best drain cleaners are biodegradable ones or a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. Strong, caustic chemicals may seem appealing with promises of unclogging your drain quickly, but liquid drain cleaners can cause damage to your pipes over time. Consider making your own drain cleaner with baking soda and vinegar.
If your kitchen is flooding, first turn off the water supply and electricity before entering the room. Next, focus on immediate flood control by cleaning up any standing water with a sump pump or wet-dry vacuum to prevent long-term water damage to your home. Open your windows and run any dehumidifiers you have handy. Finally, call a professional plumber to help find the source of the flood and repair it.
