11 Ways to Unclog a Stubborn Drain Like a Plumber

There’s nothing more annoying than watching your kitchen sink slooooowlly back up right in front of your eyes ... unless it’s your toilet doing the same thing! Unfortunately, clogs in residential plumbing are just a part of life. But there’s lots of ways to deal with clogs, most of which are quick and easy, and don’t require you to buy anything special. 

Top Tips for Unclogging Drains

The first and most important step is to try to diagnose the plumbing issue.

Lots of people see a slow drain and immediately reach for the Drano, but this is often unnecessary, and can actually cause a lot of problems with your pipes. As soon as you start to see that drain back up, stop and take a minute to try and figure out what could be causing the issue.

• If it’s in the kitchen, you’re most likely looking at a combination of grease and food.

• If it’s in the shower or bathtub, it’s most likely hair, skin cells, and soap scum.

• If it’s in the toilet, it’s most likely a build-up of material you normally flush down a toilet, too much toilet paper, or something that should never have been in the toilet to begin with, like a child’s toy.

Of course clogs can happen for lots of other reasons, including issues with your pipes or tree roots growing into your pipes, but see if you can take a good guess at what might be causing the issue before you attempt a fix.

How to remove grease clogs:

• Hot water

• Dish soap

• Baking soda or salt

• Chemical cleaners

If you think you’re dealing with grease, hair and skin cells, or something else that’s relatively soft like that, then start by trying to unclog the drain with boiling water. Just boil a pot of water, and slowly pour it directly into the drain. A lot of times, this can loosen up the clog and help it get down your pipes.

If you’re pretty sure you’re working specifically with a grease clog, like in a kitchen sink, then put a little dish detergent down the pipe as you’re pouring that boiling water in. Dish detergent is specifically designed to break up grease, and can help you get things moving again.

If that’s not working, you can also try a mixture of baking soda and hot water, or salt and hot water. Baking soda is caustic, and can help dissolve clogs, while salt is abrasive, which can help break them up. If you want to amp either one of these methods up, add some lemon juice or vinegar into the mix. Since they’re acidic, they’ll add some oomph to the unclogging process. 

If you do this you generally want about a 1 to 1 ratio of baking soda to lemon juice or vinegar. One quick note: remember that baking soda and vinegar react, so be prepared to step back once you pour them down the sink!

If you’ve tried all of that and none of it’s working, then consider reaching for a chemical drain unclogger or calling a plumber. Remember though, you need to give this stuff a little time to work. Wait at least a couple hours in between each attempt so you don’t end up overwhelming your drain, and you give each method time to really work its way down into your pipes.

How to deal with a blocked drain:

• Plunger

• Clothes hanger or drain snake

• Augur

• Wet vac

If you think you’re dealing with an actual blockage (like a clog of hair or fecal material, extra toilet paper, blocked up food in your kitchen sink, or something stuck down a drain like a toy), then it’s time to switch tactics.

First, try a plunger. Most people only think about them in terms of the toilet, but their sucking mechanism can be just as effective on other drains. A lot of times a plunger can help move the blockage enough to where you can either physically remove it, or get enough water down through the pipes that you’re able to dissolve it. 

If you’re not able to move the clog with a plunger, then try to stick something down the pipe to move the clog. If you’ve got a drain snake then that’s great, but you can also undo a wire clothes hanger and use it to move things around. Really get in there, and try it from a couple of different angles, because sometimes all a clog takes is one good push, and then you’re free and clear.

If you try all that and it still doesn’t work, then it’s time to bring in the big guns. Try using an auger or a wet vac to either break the clog up and push it out, or suck it out using the vacuum power of the wet vac. Both can be effective, but of course, you have to have those tools on hand. If you don’t already own them, you might be able to rent them from a local hardware store, or even borrow them from a community tool exchange though.

Still having issues? Consider these two causes of clogged drains:

If you’re still having issues and aren’t quite ready to call your plumber yet, then it’s time to go just one step further and actually take a look at your p-trap or your vents.

The p-trap is a bend under your sink that catches food and other materials, sometimes it can get clogged up and cause a slow drain. The good news is, it’s pretty easy to remove and clean out. Just put a bucket under it to catch any water or food, then loosen the circular THINGS that hold it onto the other pipes, and pull down. Empty it out into the bucket, and you’re good!

More rarely, there could be a clog in one of your vents that’s causing issues with your drain. These vents open up onto the top of your house, so if you can safely climb up there and check them out, it’s worth a try.

Nothing working? Then it’s time to call your local plumber.

Sometimes you just need a professional –– that’s what we’re here for! 

With 40+ years of plumbing experience, there’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Click here to get your free estimate for plumbing services in Minnetonka and Maple Grove!