DIY: Sink Drain Troubleshooting & Repair

If you've got a clogged sink drain in your bathroom or kitchen, you need to know something about sink drain repair so you can fix the problem without having to call out a professional plumber to do the job for you.

Carrying out a sink drain repair quickly is important as a clogged sink is not just inconvenient but can also be unhygienic.

Sink drain repair is also necessary if you want to avoid replacing the whole sink as a drain that clogs or rusts can lead to a leakage of water between the sink pipes. This will not only damage the sink but the flooring beneath it as well. As sink drain repair costs are hefty if you call out a professional plumber to do the job for you, why not have a go yourself, especially if it's only a minor problem.

A sink can become clogged for any number of reasons, including a gradual build up of dirt and food particles or a foreign object in the drainage pipe. Whatever the cause is, you'll need to carry out a sink drain repair so that water can flow through the sink again. With a bathroom sink, clogging is often the result of soap, hair and dirt building up in the drainage pipe.

So how do you go about carrying out a sink drain repair?

The first thing that you can try to unblock a kitchen sink is a plunger. Put the plunger cap vertically over the plughole and fill the sink with water until it covers it. Make sure that the plunger's suction cup is big enough to cover the plughole before applying petroleum jelly on the rim and pushing it up and down ten to twelve times. On the final thrust, pull it out with a rapid upward movement. This will hopefully cause the water to drain out, thereby unblocking the sink.

If a sink drain repair with a plunger doesn't work, you need to buy some chemical drainage powder, sprinkle it inside the sink drain, pour in a cup of boiling water and leave overnight.