How to Unclog a Bathroom Sink: 3 Methods for Quick and Easy Results
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Illustration: Julia Abbonizio/Getty Images
For all the glowing up that happens in front of your bathroom mirror, figuring out how to unclog a bathroom sink can get ugly quick. Your sink catches loose hair and soap scum so you can face the day looking prim and proper, but it can’t always handle the debris. With the average American household using 20% of their water via faucets, it’s a big deal when your bathroom sink drains slowly and, eventually, not at all.
Unclogging a bathroom sink sounds like an easy DIY task—and it is—but some touted methods can lead you astray. We spoke to professional plumbers to find out what works and what doesn’t. The following guide from AD provides instructions on how to resolve your clogged bathroom sink and when to call for help if things aren’t going your way.
Gather supplies: What do I need to unclog my bathroom sink drain?
Unclogging a slow drain is a job you can usually do yourself with a few common household items. Don’t bother raiding the pantry though. “Vinegar and baking soda—I’d save that for your salad and other things. It doesn’t do much of anything other than make a foamy mess,” said Nate Schlueter, owner of Schlueter Plumbing in Cincinnati.
Here’s what you need to get started:
Drain plunger
Plastic waste bag
Rubber gloves
Wet rag or towel
Zip strips/ties (18–24” long)
How to unclog a bathroom sink
Schlueter estimates the following two methods can eliminate a bathroom sink clog 70 percent of the time without calling a plumber.
Method 1: Use a bathroom plunger
Clogged sink in house - unclog the blockage with sink plunger
To properly plunge your bathroom sink, it’s best to have a drain plunger—these are usually the ones with red cups and wood handles. You can also buy a hand plunger for sinks for around $5. Then, follow these steps:
Step 1: Clear any loose debris
If your work area is not clean, waterborne waste can affect the seal you get with the plunger or get pushed into the pipe, worsening the clog.
Step 2: Remove the drain cover
You must remove the drain stopper for clear access to the pipe.
Step 3: Fill the sink
Fill your sink with a few inches of water if it doesn’t have standing water already. You want enough to make a firm seal without splashing water everywhere. Seal the overflow hole with your wet rag.
Step 4: Form a tight seal
Place the plunger directly over the drain. Cover it completely to create a tight seal.
Step 5: Plunge the drain
Using force and both hands, push and pull the plunger handle straight up and down for about 20 to 30 seconds.
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Mini Plunger, Multipurpose Nonslip Handle
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Step 6: Check and flush the drain
Check whether the clogged drain has cleared and flush the sink with hot water for several minutes. If it was a success, you’re done!
Step 7: Repeat (if necessary)
If the drain clog remains, repeat steps four through six.
Tip: If you’re unable to generate proper suction with a plunger, try using a wet/dry vacuum. It will generate its own suction to help dislodge the clog.
Method 2: Use zip ties
If plunging doesn’t work, you may have a hair clog that refuses to budge. Instead of pushing it down the pipe, try pulling it out with a zip tie or drain snake. “You want one that is 18–24 inches long and is flexible with barbs on both sides,” said Docia Myer-Boylen, owner of the Handyman Connection in Golden, Colorado. If you have a regular zip tie, you can use scissors to cut notches.
Step 1: Prepare for a mess
Don your rubber gloves and prepare your plastic bag for the impending mess of hair and sludge. A nearby roll of paper towels can be handy too.
Step 2: Remove the drain cover
Like before, you should remove the drain grate, plate, or stopper for full access.
Step 3: Insert the zip tie
Zip-It Hair Clog Remover
$15.00, Amazon
Force the drain snake down as far as possible—so the handle is the only visible part of the zip tie—twisting as you go to break through the clog.
Step 4: Ensnare the hair
Jiggle, spin, and wiggle the zip tie in an attempt to grab more hair with its toothy barbs.
Step 5: Remove the zip tie
Not for the faint of heart, it’s time to pull out the tool and reveal the mess. Tug slowly but with as much force as needed, feeling for any resistance. That means you hooked the clog!
Step 6: Repeat (if necessary)
You can repeat steps three through five until you no longer feel resistance or no longer retrieve any debris.
Step 7: Clean up
Remove the debris from the snake and dispose of it in your plastic bag. Thoroughly rinse and dry the tool to reuse another time.
Step 8: Flush the drain
Don’t forget to give your freshly unclogged drain a healthy helping of hot water. This helps flush out any remnants of the clog and keep your bathroom sink flowing freely for longer.
What unclogging methods are best avoided?
Despite the simplicity of unclogging a bathroom sink, there’s a surprising number of ways things can go wrong. It’s easy to find a plethora of unclogging methods that someone swears by, but the following tactics are best left unattempted.
Disassembling the P-trap
drainpipe
The P-trap is the U-shaped pipe beneath your sink that connects it to the sewer line. It prevents foul-smelling gasses from traveling up through your drain. It can, on occasion, also trap gunk, LEGOs, or your wedding band and become clogged.
If you’re handy, chances are you can handle P-trap disassembly by yourself, particularly if it’s a plastic one—but there’s seldom a need to. The majority of bathroom sink clogs result from buildup around the plunger rod, which is farther up the pipe than the P-trap. “So you could take the P-trap off, and it’ll be perfectly clean, and the sink won’t drain because the hair is all clogged on that rod,” said Schlueter.
Though Schlueter and his team rarely find a clog in the P-trap, they always replace the part when they do. Putting it back together can be fiddly, and it isn’t worth possibly ruining your cabinets over a $2–$3 replacement.
Snaking your own drain
Not to be confused with using zip ties, snaking your drain refers to using an auger to drill out stubborn clogs. While augers are available to rent from hardware stores, “most homeowners do not have the experience to use an auger properly in a sewer,” warned Schlueter. He explained that well-intentioned DIYers often rent something too powerful for the situation or buy an auger attachment for a standard power drill.
What can go wrong? A lot. “They don’t know how to control the torque on their drill, they don’t realize what the cable is and isn’t capable of, and they either break the cable off or get it stuck in the drain. Then you’re paying the plumber even more to remove that cable or to replace your drain if it’s not removable,” he said.
If you insist on cabling your own drain, Schlueter strongly recommends using a hand auger, which allows you to go slow and feel what you’re doing in the pipe.
Using chemical drain cleaners
A black African-American man pouring drain cleaner in a bathroom sink
Myer-Boylen and Schlueter both caution against pouring chemicals down a clogged sink drain. Though the right chemical can work on fat-type clogs, it can damage your pipes and introduce harsh ingredients into your home. A common mistake homeowners make is to continuously use chemicals in a consistently clogged drain.
Some household chemicals are dangerous for human exposure too. If you do use a chemical and end up calling a plumber, tell them what you used and how much. “That’s always a big concern for me—everybody’s safety,” said Schlueter.
What causes bathroom sink clogs?
Hair and soap scum are the culprits of most bathroom sink clogs. Though hair is the main offender, soap and cosmetics can break down into a fatty substance when exposed to hard water. That scum builds up over time inside your pipes, causing a clog. Dropped toothpaste can also glom onto inner pipe walls and constrict water flow.
If your home is older, it could suffer the effects of rust clogs too. Homes built before 1960 may have galvanized steel pipes, which tend to last between 30 and 40 years. Toward the end of that lifespan, rust can flake off and obstruct flow.
How do you prevent your bathroom sink from clogging?
While you could always stop combing your hair, brushing your teeth, or washing your face (please don’t), the best preventative care for any sink drain is simply adequate drainage, Schlueter advised. “When you're brushing your teeth, just leave the water running. It’s flushing out your drain,” he said.
Schlueter recounted a time when his client disposed of mashed potato leftovers in her garbage disposal without using enough water. “The only way I could get it out was physically cut the pipe in half and take a shop vac and pull it out. It was literally thick-as-you-can-imagine mashed potatoes all the way through this pipe from the kitchen drain down to the main stack,” he said.
Meyer-Boylen recommended not doing your hair care routine over the sink or washing dropped toothpaste down the drain. She also suggested the following preventative care routine:
Flush pipes weekly with hot water
Clean drains monthly
Use a zip tie monthly
Frequently asked questions
What can I pour in the sink to unclog it?
You can pour boiling water into the sink to help clear minor sink clogs. However, it can damage porcelain sinks and plastic pipes, so make sure it’s a compatible method for your bathroom sink before committing. Pour slowly and carefully to avoid scalding yourself.
What is the best way to unclog a bathroom sink?
The best way to unclog a bathroom sink is to plunge it or use a zip tie, as outlined above. If this doesn’t work, you can try secondary methods such as boiling water and—if you’re really brave—P-trap disassembly. After that, your next move should be calling a plumber.
How can I use household items to unclog my bathroom sink?
If you don’t have a plunger or a zip tie handy and you don’t mind a little DIY chemistry, you can try to loosen the clog with a cup of baking soda immediately followed by a cup of vinegar. “Let that sit for 30 minutes, then flush for one minute with hot water,” said Myer-Boylen. With a little luck, this household concoction will dissolve the sludge that’s blocking up your drain.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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