It was a wonderful dinner and now you have finished the washing up and are ready to sit down and relax. You pull the drain stopper to let all that dirty dishwater drain away and nothing happens. The dishwater obstinately remains right where it is in your kitchen sink. Grimacing at having to stick your hand in that icky old water, you probe down and feel around, but can’t find any debris that might be causing the problem, the blockage is deeper than you can reach. Now what?
Well, there are two paths ahead of you, and the one you choose will depend on time and money, as most of life’s little problems do! The first thing, and yes, we do think it’s really the best, it to call your dedicated plumber in Coburg to come over and clean that drain out for you! That way you will be guaranteed that the job will be done right, and done fast without a big mess! Plumbers are the drain experts, they can quickly identify the problem and use their arsenal of specialized tools to solve it for you!
The other way to go about clearing your drain is to attempt a DIY fix, but be warned- they don’t always work as well as we want them to! Bear in mind that plumbers have tools and training that we don’t, and their expertise can hone right in on the cause of a plumbing problem like a blocked drain, whereas you might end up making an even bigger mess out of it! But, if you want to give DIY a go anyway, here are a couple of tips that people have reported having good results with:
Salt, Baking Soda & Lemon– This popular homemade drain cleaner involves carefully pouring some boiling water into the sink together with one half-metric cup of salt. Immediately follow this with a one metric cup (250 millilitres) mix of equal parts baking soda and 100% pure lemon juice. Everything is going to foam for a while, when it finishes the blocked drain should be all clear! There is one side effect of this method to note, however- your sink will smell lemony fresh!
Baking Soda & Vinegar – This home remedy has been around for a long time, which probably means there is something to it! Once again, start by pouring some boiling water into the sink, and be careful not to burn yourself! Kids and pets should be banished from the kitchen while all of this is going on! Now add one metric cup of plain white vinegar. Don’t use anything fancy-flavoured like wine or balsamic vinegar, your drain does not have taste buds! Apple cider vinegar might do in a pinch, but will cost you more. Follow that up with a half-metric cup of baking soda. The mixture is going to fizz and bubble, give it about fifteen minutes and the block should be cleared! If that doesn’t work, well… call the plumber!
Always doing your best to keep things like grease and bits of food detritus out of the kitchen sink will hopefully prevent blocked drains, but if it happens, you know what your options are!
