We’ve all done it: poured fat, coffee grounds and tea leaves into the kitchen sink, thinking it’ll all magically disappear with a quick swish of the hot tap. But sooner or later, it’s going to end as a blocked sink. Relax: you don’t have to get architects to design you a new kitchen, you can just do a little DIY and have the water gurgling away again in a jiffy. Property development is a drastic remedy for a grungy sink. And unlike other projects like painting and decorating, building or plastering, you should have this one sorted in minutes rather than hours or days.
First, block the overflow in the sink with a wet rag, pour enough water in to cover a plunger and give it a good, vigorous plunge or three. If the water still fails to drain, scoop out the water from the sink into a bucket and place it underneath the trap. Unscrew the plastic trap collars at both ends, take the trap out and give it a good clean (you should immediately see what horrors have been blocking the sink). Replace the trap (don’t over-tighten, though) and check for drainage.
If the water still won’t drain, the problem is further along the system. Check the drain outside the house by lifting the inspection cover – if it’s full of water, you’ll need some drain rods. If the drain is clear, the obstruction is in the house – unscrew the trap again and use a toilet auger (a flexible length of wire) to push through the drainage pipe. And stop using the sink for waste disposal.