# What are the contents of most sink drain clogs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-contents-of-most-sink-drain-clogs/710545 "2015-01-22T02:23:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-contents-of-most-sink-drain-clogs/710545/21 "2015-01-23T15:30:32Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Fingernail clippings? I don’t clip my fingernails, and I don’t think they would turn rubbery in any case. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-contents-of-most-sink-drain-clogs/710545/22 "2015-01-23T15:37:08Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’m going to guess that this is congealed toothpaste lather glop (ctlglop). I think every time you brush your teeth and spit it out, you get another layer of ctlglop deposited inside the drain – just like dipping candles, with every dip you get another layer of wax on your candle. Might be. I am just amazed at the consistency (I’m serious - it really IS rubbery). > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Suggestion > > Buy a sink plunger. Then learn how to plunge a bathroom sink. You have to cover up the air vent (its under the front rim) but if you do it right you’ll be surprised how easy it is to plunge out. I’ve got one. That’s how I resolve the problem. I know about the vent and no, it is **not** easy to plunge out if my sink gets really gunked up. In fact I now have two plungers - I lent my first one to a friend so she could clear her kitchen sink and I got paranoid that I would have a toilet clog before she returned it (haven’t figured out why my toilet likes to clog so often either). ---
**Author:** ![DoggyDunnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@DoggyDunnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoggyDunnit)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-contents-of-most-sink-drain-clogs/710545/23 "2015-01-23T16:03:07Z")
A lot of it is toothpaste, which is why I now spit into the trash can, rather than the sink. Just that one change caused the “clog frequency” in my bathroom to go down over 50%. What I’ve always wondered is **why** certain types of clogs happen in the first place. It doesn’t compute in my head as to how, say in the kitchen, random bits of food eventually stops the sink up (grease, I understand, since it cannot “mingle” with water). Shouldn’t they just go where the water’s going and end up in the city’s WTPs? ---
**Author:** ![vomit\_comet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/73ab20/32.png) [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-contents-of-most-sink-drain-clogs/710545/24 "2015-01-23T19:12:55Z")
Could be some fungus gnat or fruit fly larva in there too; sometimes especially in summer you may notice small flies going in and out of the drain. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-contents-of-most-sink-drain-clogs/710545/25 "2015-01-23T21:26:20Z")
Occasionally, taking the boiling water from cooking a big pot of pasta and carrying it to the bathroom sink and pouring it down that drain will help a lot in keeping down the frequency of clogs. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-contents-of-most-sink-drain-clogs/710545/26 "2015-01-23T22:42:32Z")
That’s one of the smartest suggestions I’ve heard all day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-contents-of-most-sink-drain-clogs/710545.md?page=1)