All of a sudden, the kitchen sink won’t darain! I first tried the chemical route (liquid drano followed by boiling water). I then was able to insert a snake-I was abled to inser about 6 foot of it-it caught nothing, and the drain is still clogged.
What can do next? Is there anything short of calling roto-rooter?
er… you’ve tried a plunger, right?
Use a longer snake, or call a professional to do the same thing.
Go into the basement and open up the trap. Run the snake from there.
Oh – since you’ve used chemicals, be very careful. That stuff can burn you badly, and you could be drenched in it. I would avoid chemicals except as a last resort.
My kitchen sink clogs every few years and I had a 50-foot snake to clean it out (the pipe takes a real roundabout route and the cleanouts are put in the wrong place). A trick I discovered last time is to cut the pipe, snake it out, and then use a rubber sleeve to fix things. The advantage is that next time, I just have to open the sleeve to be able to get at the pipe.
Well, did you? I’ve found that a plunger works better, more quickly, and more cheaply than chemicals.
If the OP is going to try plunging (or anything else) he should be careful due to the presence of drain cleaner. Wear splash goggles and rubber gloves. Plug up the second drain (if a multi-bowl sink) with a wet towel.
I too vote for plunger and long pipe snake, assuming you can get at the cleanout(s) safely.
Is it totally stopped or does water drain but really slowly? I’m asking because if it does drain slowly you may be able to rinse a lot of the drain cleaner away (eventually) and then snake the cleanouts or go in through the trap under the sink - since that’s where stuff can settle I would be really careful opening that up unless I was pretty sure all the Drano was gone. Have a big plastic basin under it and some damp towels to wipe up inevitable spills.
Drain cleaner sucks.
Commercially available drain cleaners are terrible. They work great in the commercials, not so great IRL.
It depends on if the clog is in the pipe or if it is in the P-trap. Unfortunately, your trap is now full of caustic, dangerous chemicals, so taking it off to clean it out is not healthy!! If you’re feeling brave (and are somewhat mechanically inclined) you can put on some rubber gloves and a faceshield, then take off the trap with a bucket under it. Clean it out in your bathtub. If the trap wasn’t the culprit, the problem is in the pipe in the wall, and you have to run a snake down the pipe to clean it out.
I always give my customers a lecture on how to keep their kitchen sink drains running well. There are LOTS of common misconceptions about drains and what can go down there.
Feel free to share that advice here - hint, hint.
If you ask any plumber on the planet about unclogging a sink, the first words of advice will be “Don’t use commercial drain openers.” Those things are lethal and they do not work very well.
Call a professional and tell them what you did. Be prepared for a huge bill.
Once a week, put 1/4 cup washing soda (found in the laundry aisle, very cheap) followed by a pan full of boiling water down the drain. That will get rid of any buildup. If the drain clogs again, put a cup of washing soda followed by a cup of vinegar down the drain. Wait an hour, and put boiling water down. That should do it, and it is not lethal.
I didn’t even know you could buy a 6 foot snake. I have a 15 footer for cleaning out sinks. Go to the home store and buy that one, and see if you can locate the clog that way.
Screw hints. I will flat-out desperately beg hroark2112 to share that advice here. Or in another thread, if he likes (but please provide a link here). I hate declogging the kitchen sink.
Tell us about the sink… Single or double bowl? Do you have a dishwasher and/or disposer? If there’s any flow at all, run a lot of water through to wash away the drain cleaner and make it safe for the next steps.
The bad news is that dumping drain cleaner into a clogged kitchen sink tends to make the problem severely worse. The lye mixes with the grease that inhabits all kitchen drains and turns into a very hard soap. When this happens, it’s quicker and easier to replace the pipes.
As for keeping the drain happy - pretend your garbage disposer does not exist. Those things lull people into thinking that they can cram anything down the hole and have it disappear. It’s not so. Long stringy stuff like corn husks, celery and banana peels tend to get wrapped around the impeller. These are all better off in the trash bin. Peelings are bad news as well because there’s usually a huge clump of them crammed in at one time.
What’s one of the all-time busiest days of the year for US plumbers?
Thanksgiving. The day when everyone’s peeling 20 pounds of potatos and they jam all those peels down the drain.
Actually, there is a commercialy based drain cleaner that works very well for slow drains (not stopped) and is safe- it’s based upon enzymes and/or bacteria.
Never use the lye based rain cleaner, it usually just makes things worse, as has been said.
Plunger, boiling water, etc.
To keep your kitchen drain open, once a month run hot water through it for 5-10 minutes or so. Then once a quarter use the enzyme stuff.
Umm, it’s spelled kluged, or kludged, and if your kitchen drain is kluged, you might want to dismantled it and put it back together in a more straightforward way. If not, it may get clogged.
…what?
OK…I’m easy 
First, “Care & feeding of your garbage disposal”
Never, ever put anything in your garbage disposal that you can’t chew. Nasty animal fat from a steak? Into the trash with it. Chicken bones (really, I shouldn’t HAVE to say this!) go in the trash too!
Egg shells have a membrane on them. Don’t put them down the disposal!
Broccoli stalks, celery, and excessive amounts of potato skins, don’t do it unless you want to support my goalie gear habit! Celery has strands that just catch & mess up, potato skins & broccoli stalks just seem to turn to concrete.
Grease, bacon fat and other animal based fats should never be run down your drain. IF you do run some, DO NOT run hot water. Run very cold water, it will cause the fat to ball up and run down the drain. Hot water will melt it and make it adhere to the pipes, and build up until the drain clogs.
Rice. Trust me on this, large quantities of rice are death to your drain. If you dump a bowl full of rice down the drain, get out your checkbook.
If your disposal begins to smell, there are a few things that work well. Peel an orange/lemon/lime/grapefruit and dump the peels down the disposal. Turn on the cold water and let it chew it up. The citric acid in the peel will clean your disposal and make your kitchen smell nicer.
If it is running loud, it may be because it’s old & has crud built up. Take a few ice trays, empty them down the disposal, turn on the cold water, and run it. It will sound like hell, but the chipped ice helps clean out the disposal.
Always run COLD water with your disposal! Never hot. Never run it dry. The cold water running will help keep it from overheating.
On to your kitchen drains.
Grease. No, no, no grease. If you’re washing a pan that you used with something greasy, wash it in cold first. Let the grease ball up & run down the drain whole, instead of melting to the pipes. If you can, scrape as much grease as you can out of the pan & into the trash first.
Use the basket strainer in your sink. It will help catch a lot of things that can clog your drain.
Always remember 2 things about plumbers (and contractors in general). Plumbers are lazy and plumbers are cheap. As a general rule, the smallest pipe allowed by code is the cheapest pipe, and that’s what the plumber building your house used. The easiest way that is legal to run your pipe is also the cheapest way, and that’s how it was done. That isn’t always best for future service!!
Once or twice a year, fill your sink to the rim. Both sides if you have a double bowl sink. Then pull the plug. The column of water will help force stuff through your pipes that might not otherwise b pushed out with normal use.
Coffee grounds. NOT down the drain. Think concrete in your pipes. If you have a nice layer of grease built up on the sides of your pipe, those grounds will attach themselves to the pipe and choke down the flow.
If you drop something down the drain, get it out. Don’t hope it will go through & into the pipes. Murphy’s Law will not let that happen! I have pulled beepers & cell phones out of toilets because someone said “Ah, it will just go through!” It won’t. Trust me.
Commercial drain cleaners suck. They’re the bane of any plumber’s existence. Housewives ALWAYS lie and say they didn’t throw it down the drain, and they always do. Don’t do it…but if you do and it doesn’t work, ALWAYS tell your plumber. If I get that crap on my hands, your bill just doubled.
There are a few chemicals that actually do work. Most of them are the kind that even the plumbing supply houses won’t sell to you without a plumbing license. Stuff that cuts through the crystallized urine in a urinal line, that kind of stuff. Very dangerous.
If you have long hair, you will get hair clogs in your shower/tub and most likely your bathroom sink. If you want a chemical that will actually work, go to the plumbing supply house and ask for Thrift crystal drain cleaner. It works well. Don’t get it on your hands, and don’t leave it around kids & pets.
Children will throw things down toilets that will not flush around. Toothbrushes & eyeliner pencils are common. You’ll know you have something like that down there when your toilet clogs, you clear it with a plunger, and it clogs again the next time you use paper. If that problem keeps happening, something is down there. Look for the guilty kid/husband.
Q-Tips. Trash them, don’t flush them.
One last thing, for the ladies. Yes, your husband is right. If he pees in the shower, it goes down the same pipe as the toilet.
Any other questions, just let me know 
A better option is to get a thing called a “Zip-It” from the hardware store. This is a nearly two foot long plastic stick with barbs that you stick down the drain and zip and zap and jig and jog around to cut and extract hair tangles. Cheaper than drain cleaner and completely non-poisonous. Just don’t swipe it across your skin. (Yowch!)
Oh, lord - I’m helping rehab a house and we discovered that exact problem in the kitchen - coffee grounds + grease, totally blocked the flow. I got to help rod it out. This was not fun.
I don’t have a disposal, yet somehow manage to avoid getting clogged drains. Then again, as soon as I see a slow-down I do something about it.
Sounds awesome. I’ll have to check that out!!
Have one…have long hair…does not work. At least not with my drain. Thankfully my maintenance man at the apartment complex has that Thrift stuff. Yup, that works.
If your darain is clooged, your scarude.