In an attempt to not hijack another similar thread (about bathroom sinks) I thought I’d create a new thread to ask a question about my kitchen sink. It drains very slowly, and I’m sure there’s a lot of gunk in the pipes from over the years. A couple of years ago we cleaned it out with Drano (or some equivalent) and that improved things somewhat… (I know now that the people here usually recommend against that). Reading online somewhere I read that you could use a ratio of 1cup Baking Soda to 1 cup Vinegar to make something to clean the drain. Following the directions, I poured the baking soda down the drain, then added the vinegar, and then covered the drain (as directed) and let it sit for 5 min. Then I poured boiling water down the drain. While there might have been a slight improvement, things are still pretty slow.
I have what I think is a common sink setup in my apartment. The “main” sink is on the left side, and has a garbage disposal attached underneath. To it’s right is a second basin, and it’s drainpipe connects to the drain/disposal to it’s left.
I suspect that part of what the baking soda/vinegar concoction was supposed to do is foam and create some pressure (why you covered it). I’m wondering if because of the disposal in the “mix”, it prevented the pressure from building up enough. (I suspect the “clog” or “shrinking of the pipe” is beyond the disposal. I suspect this because if I put water in the left side, it eventually fills up the drain and the basin starts to fill, and then water starts backing into the other sink, which also fills…)
Would performing this Baking Soda/vinegar routine again be helpful, or is it time to contact the landlord to have them snake out the drainpipe? Is there another suggestion I should try?
I’ve never been clear what vinegar/baking soda was supposed to do. All it does is foam up and make saltwater. If you want to pressurize it, plug one drain tight and use a plunger on the other drain. Generally you want to use a pulling motion, rather than a pushing motion, but if it’s not fully clogged, back and forth plunging could help break up the stuff. You may break it up enough to clog the pipe entirely, which means, try to pull with the plunger to bring the clog mass backwards, rather than pushing and impacting the clog tighter.
I like boiling water, but I would pour a lot down, not just one pot. Let it get in there and soften up the clog, then follow up with more boiling water.
Do you have a dishwasher plugged into your disposal? That makes plunging a lot more complicated
The old cookbooks (Settlement?) called for a gallon or so of boiling water down the kitchen sink once a week. It keeps my kitchen drain happy. However, some disposal units or dishwasher connections may not like that treatment.
Household bleach is chemically similar to Drano - they’re both caustic (pH >7) but what I’ve seen is that bleach is inferior to Drano at clearing drains.
If you’re on septic, you really shouldn’t pour either down the drain. And, you really don’t want to use either on a kitchen drain as the caustic mixes with grease and forms hard insoluble soap. Only real cure for this is to scrape the pipes clean, or more sensibly, just replace the drain piping until it joins the heavy steel/cast iron pipe.
Since your sink drain is “slow” and not completely clogged, enzymatic drain cleaners would be a good way to go. You should first make sure the p-trap is clear of major obstructions. It is quite easy to remove with very few tools, none if it’s PVC. After that, add the enzyme cleaner according to it’s directions. These will clear the grease and gunk from your drain lines all the way down, not just the part under your sink. They are not very fast acting - it may take several days to see the results. They are also safe (healthful, even) for septic systems.
Yes, there is a dishwasher connected to this whole setup…
We’re not on a septic system - we’re connected to the city sewer…
As for the landlord, yes they will snake the drain if necessary, but I’d like to avoid that if I can as the apartment is a bit messy and I’d rather not have to do a bunch of cleaning to get them in… (grin)
Right. Enzymatic, then after it sits for the required length, run scads of hot water. The repeat enzymes, then hot water. If you have Dawn or a similar serious grease cutting detergent, you might try running very hot water with Dawn. And by “running very hot water” I mean until your water heater runs out- like for 20 minutes at full flow.
Baking soda is more or less useless for drain cleaning- some dudes use it for the garbage disposal as it makes it smell fresher. *Washing *soda can work as a de-greaser, with plenty of hot water. Washing soda is slightly more dangerous than baking soda- follow directions, don’t get it in your eyes.
For any drain- running plenty of hot water down once a month will help keep it “regular”.
Vinegar isn’t much use to clean drains either- sometimes there is a crust of minerals in a pipe with very hard water and boiling vinegar can dissolve it.
