Clogged kichen sink full of water?

Question

I have a clogged kitchen sink full of water. I have 2 sinks, the right one has the disposal system in it, but the one on the left is clogged and is full of water! Are there any at home remedies you can suggest? Or should I take the thing apart? And if that is what I should do, how do I do it?

Answer 1

Free Spee has the right idea, but did not explain it well.

Every garbage disposal comes with a lid or cover so you can fill the sink with water. Put that lid in place, then while holding it down use a plunger on the side with out the disposal.

Answer 2

Depending on where you live, you should be able to buy something to sort it out. I use Mr Muscle sink & drain unblocker (in the UK). You just empty the contents into the sink and it unblocks it without you having to take anything apart.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I have had the same problem. One thing you could do is try to use a plunger in the sink full of water. sometimes it will break it up enough to go through. my problem I had was doing foods you should never put through a disposal. potatoe peels are the worst. then lettuce, celery and banana peels. those are all too stringy. If the plunger doesnt work you may need a snake. each time it happened to me was a different solution. but one time my kids peeled potatoes and put the peels down the drain thinking they were helping. NOT. but the pipe that was in my basement had a 90 degree coupling that attached to the main drain of the house and all the peels were clogged up there. just had to remove that one pipe and everything came out. hope this helps. but try the plunger first.

Answer 4

One of the most common causes of a clogged drain is a clogged garbage disposer. If the side of the sink that has the disposer doesn’t drain, plunge it first to remove the clog or force it down the drain.

And if you flip the switch to turn on your garbage disposer and all you hear is a low humming sound, your disposer is probably jammed. You can usually free it by turning the blades manually. (If the disposer doesn’t make any sound when you turn it on, an internal breaker on the motor probably has tripped. Give the disposer a minute to cool off. Then press the reset button located on the bottom of the unit, and turn it on again.)

If the problem isn’t in the disposer, plunge the drain. Roll the head of the plunger into the water so you force water, not air, into the drain. Pump vigorously. On your last upstroke, pop the plunger off the mouth of the drain for extra pressure. If the water doesn’t swirl straight down the drain, continue plunging for several minutes. Plunging can be quick and easy or it could be a wet mess. Keep towels handy to soak up spills.

Don’t plunge or snake a drain if you’ve poured drain cleaners into the sink. The chemicals can cause serious burns if they splash on your skin. Use drain cleaners only if the sink is draining slowly and not completely clogged.Clogs that occur in the P-trap and trap arm of the drain most often occur when grease or coffee grounds stick. If intensive plunging doesn’t remove it, disassemble and clean out the P-trap.

Begin by sponging the water from the sink to reduce the flow under the sink when you pull off the trap. Keep your pan or bucket underneath; dirty water will flow out. We show plastic drain lines, but many older kitchen sinks have metal traps and pipes. Metal slip nuts are usually more difficult to loosen than plastic, but either will probably require the use of slip-joint pliers to break them free. Loosen them gently to avoid cracking or bending the trap assembly.

Unscrew the slip nut between the P-trap and the trap arm first, then the nut at the bottom of the waste tee. If the trap is clogged, clean it, reinstall it and test the line with warm water. Don’t overtighten the slip nuts. Hand tight plus a quarter turn with a pliers should be enough.

If the P-trap isn’t clogged, move on and remove the trap arm and clean it. Run a screwdriver around the inside of the pipe stub-out and pull out any debris that may have collected in the opening. If you still haven’t found the clog, you are going to need a snake.

Begin by loosening the setscrew at the tip of the snake and pulling out 6 to 10 in. of cable. Then tighten the setscrew and spin the snake down into the drain line. Initially you may feel an obstruction, but it’s likely that the tip of the snake is just turning a corner. Loosen the setscrew, pull out another 6 to 10 in. of cable and continue to feed the snake into the line. If you feel the cable hit an obstruction, continue cranking and pushing the cable through the clog until you feel the tip bite through. This should be obvious because the tension in the cable will drop. When you are through the clog, turn the crank counterclockwise and pull out the cable. Clean the cable as you pull; it’ll probably be covered with incredibly dirty gunk. You may get a large plug of material at the end of the snake, so keep that bucket handy. Repeat the process until you no longer feel blockage, then reassemble the trap and run plenty of warm water to flush the line.

TIP

After the drain is open, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the drain. Cover both openings and let it sit for a few minutes. Then run another gallon or so of warm water behind it to flush out the mixture. The combination of baking soda and vinegar can break down any leftover fat deposits and will leave your drain smelling fresh.

Never put foods high in starch, like pasta, potatoes and rice; or foods high in fiber, like celery and corn husks. Also, run plenty of cold water down the drain and let the disposer catch up after every cup of food you push into it. Never dump bacon grease or coffee grounds into the drain. If allowed to settle and cool, they solidify in the drain

Answer 5

Pour a cup of baking soda then a cup of vinegar, let sit for 30 mins. then pour boiling water.

Answer 6

Maybe something is in the U-bend of that one sink. Not sure how you would disassemble it. Some pipes are heavy lead and others are PVC (plastic). Do you have a pipe wrench, or a snake? A snake can unclog a drain.

Answer 7

Try the plunger first, but make sure you seal up the drain hole in the dry sink well first, or you will be wasting your time.

If that doesn't do it, dip out the water then go below the sink and remove the "p" trap and see if it is clogged.

If no go yet now you can use a drain snake. If you don't have one you can buy one at the local hardware store, or rent a big industrial one at the local tool rental. If that drain has had problems in the past with clogs and draining slow, go for the industrial one.

Sometimes the chemicals work, sometimes they don't. If you do decide to use them, please follow the safety instructions very carefully.

Good luck.

Answer 8

The best thing to do is to pull it apart.  Scoop out as much water as you can before you start.  You will need a bucket and a strong hand.  Put the bucket under the S bend, and unscrew the fittings.  Water will start to dribble out as you go, and when it is completely undone the water will rush out, into the bucket, (hopefully).  Undo the other section and remove it.  Clean it and replace.  Be sure not to lose the rubber rings inside the fittings, and to put them back in when you put it all back together.  Have fun.