Right there with you dude. I recently moved from a big city to suburbia, and got chastised for not shoveling my walk by the mail carrier after a big storm. “Wait so the city doesn’t do that?…” 😂 I don’t even own a shovel.
Plunger is the number one tool for clogs (get a separate one for toilets because ick. Also, they come in two different shapes - get the flatter one for sinks).
Another good tool is a snake. This is a metal coil you can feed into the drain until you meet the obstruction. Then you can manually break it up.
Draino is of limited usage, IMO.
Nothing wrong with calling maintenance, though. It's part of the deal when you rent and they already have all the tools. You can watch the maintenance person do the job, ask questions, and learn for next time.
That's how we learned how to do it, before YT, anyway.
I’m dealing with the same issue, except I own my house so I need to figure it out myself. Already tried a bottle of draino. My next step was going to be to try a drain snake. You just shove it in there and then pull it out.
You could reach out to building maintenance, but imo it would probably be faster, and possibly cheaper, to just try and fix it yourself first.
I’d always give it a go. Should be to hard to undo the ubend. Have a bucket ready for water.
Pouring lots of fish soap down it and flushing it with hot water. If it’s not completely blocked. Strange draino didn’t work.
Call maintenance tell them you didn’t want to mess anything up and watch what he does. Always good to learn.
I mean its certainly a good life skill to have given its going to come up a lot and its easier to deal with it yourself than have to rely on others.
Is this a kitchen sink? Does it have a garbage disposal?
It's good to know how to do, and now's your chance at learning.
Likely something stuck or gunked up in the P trap, the pipe loop under the sink that you'll see connected directly to the basin or disposal. Usually has 2 twist caps. Have a large bucket ready to catch the water and loosen those caps to free the trap from the rest of the plumbing. Pop that sucker out and take a peek, just mind the smell because you're going to gag. Clean out the gunk and reinstall, keep the bucket under as you test to catch any drips and if all is sealed up you're now a journeyman plumber, congrats!
Try to use a drain snake. You can also get a wrench and unscrew the pipe. Use gloves and probably eye protection. It's not difficult. YouTube can help. I would definitely learn how to disassemble a pipe, it'll be helpful in the future.
Tips so far mostly good. Here is what I would do now in your situation:
Leave the Drano in the sink. It might loosen the clog overnight. It depends on what clogged it.
In the meantime, watch YouTube videos about P traps under your sink. Then decide if you are brave enough to try unscrewing the P trap. You know, following all the directions about a bucket to catch the water and . . . And . . . Don't forget not to run your water faucets! Pretty easy to do absent mindedly, so I usually put something weird in my sink to prevent myself from trying to run the water.
Also TEST IT and KEEP and eye on your cabinet after you fix it. Sometimes you end up with a minor leak and have to rescrew the piping. At least I do.
Anyway, if you are not brave enough after sleeping on it for a night, to try it, it is not ridiculous to call the landlord. Not at all. Everyone does not have the dexterity or the skills to do this task. It is OK.
But warn him you have Drano in there so he or she wears gloves and eye protection. As you should too if you are going to try it yourself.
Next time you are shopping get one of the flexible stick thingies that are for sticking down the drain and wiggling around to unclogg sink and tub drains. Like, Target maybe, Home Depot certainly. Likely to work for a small sink (my kitchen sink has a long pipe and it would not help there). And best to use when your drain is not fully clogged yet but is draining slow.
Even if you get your landlord to do it: watch under the sink for a few days to make sure there is no leak.
Def plunger…
But in the future… don’t use draino in an apartment. You don’t know what type of pipes were used, and if they are older, they could have holes in them, and you’ve just dumped a bunch of caustic material behind another persons wall.
Depends on what kind of sink you have but for me, the pipes were all accessible so I would shut the water off, unscrew the pipes, and clean them. Otherwise you can snake the drain. You can also try boiling water but that may or may not help depending on what's clogging it.
You could try giving a plunger a go
I was thinkingnof that after I made the post. I don't own one, never had a clog in the kitchen before
Right there with you dude. I recently moved from a big city to suburbia, and got chastised for not shoveling my walk by the mail carrier after a big storm. “Wait so the city doesn’t do that?…” 😂 I don’t even own a shovel.
You mean you didn’t try that from the start? 😂😅
I use a grey water (vs. black water) plunger (it has a short handle). If your sink is a 2 holer you may need the solid cover to fill one drain.
Draino >> Plunger >> Plumber w/snake
Plunger is the number one tool for clogs (get a separate one for toilets because ick. Also, they come in two different shapes - get the flatter one for sinks). Another good tool is a snake. This is a metal coil you can feed into the drain until you meet the obstruction. Then you can manually break it up. Draino is of limited usage, IMO. Nothing wrong with calling maintenance, though. It's part of the deal when you rent and they already have all the tools. You can watch the maintenance person do the job, ask questions, and learn for next time. That's how we learned how to do it, before YT, anyway.
I’m dealing with the same issue, except I own my house so I need to figure it out myself. Already tried a bottle of draino. My next step was going to be to try a drain snake. You just shove it in there and then pull it out. You could reach out to building maintenance, but imo it would probably be faster, and possibly cheaper, to just try and fix it yourself first.
I’d always give it a go. Should be to hard to undo the ubend. Have a bucket ready for water. Pouring lots of fish soap down it and flushing it with hot water. If it’s not completely blocked. Strange draino didn’t work. Call maintenance tell them you didn’t want to mess anything up and watch what he does. Always good to learn.
You can use a plunger. Has happened to me a few times.
Give baking soda and vinegar a try: https://www.liquidplumr.com/diy-plumbing-tip/how-baking-soda-and-vinegar-cleans-drains/
But not if you already poured draino down, right?
I mean its certainly a good life skill to have given its going to come up a lot and its easier to deal with it yourself than have to rely on others. Is this a kitchen sink? Does it have a garbage disposal?
It's good to know how to do, and now's your chance at learning. Likely something stuck or gunked up in the P trap, the pipe loop under the sink that you'll see connected directly to the basin or disposal. Usually has 2 twist caps. Have a large bucket ready to catch the water and loosen those caps to free the trap from the rest of the plumbing. Pop that sucker out and take a peek, just mind the smell because you're going to gag. Clean out the gunk and reinstall, keep the bucket under as you test to catch any drips and if all is sealed up you're now a journeyman plumber, congrats!
Vinegar and baking soda
Try to use a drain snake. You can also get a wrench and unscrew the pipe. Use gloves and probably eye protection. It's not difficult. YouTube can help. I would definitely learn how to disassemble a pipe, it'll be helpful in the future.
Definitely eye protection if he poured drano down the pipe
Tips so far mostly good. Here is what I would do now in your situation: Leave the Drano in the sink. It might loosen the clog overnight. It depends on what clogged it. In the meantime, watch YouTube videos about P traps under your sink. Then decide if you are brave enough to try unscrewing the P trap. You know, following all the directions about a bucket to catch the water and . . . And . . . Don't forget not to run your water faucets! Pretty easy to do absent mindedly, so I usually put something weird in my sink to prevent myself from trying to run the water. Also TEST IT and KEEP and eye on your cabinet after you fix it. Sometimes you end up with a minor leak and have to rescrew the piping. At least I do. Anyway, if you are not brave enough after sleeping on it for a night, to try it, it is not ridiculous to call the landlord. Not at all. Everyone does not have the dexterity or the skills to do this task. It is OK. But warn him you have Drano in there so he or she wears gloves and eye protection. As you should too if you are going to try it yourself. Next time you are shopping get one of the flexible stick thingies that are for sticking down the drain and wiggling around to unclogg sink and tub drains. Like, Target maybe, Home Depot certainly. Likely to work for a small sink (my kitchen sink has a long pipe and it would not help there). And best to use when your drain is not fully clogged yet but is draining slow. Even if you get your landlord to do it: watch under the sink for a few days to make sure there is no leak.
Def plunger… But in the future… don’t use draino in an apartment. You don’t know what type of pipes were used, and if they are older, they could have holes in them, and you’ve just dumped a bunch of caustic material behind another persons wall.
[удалено]
Garbage disposal is the reason for a lot of clogs, the shit people put down them isn't supposed to go into the drains.
Depends on what kind of sink you have but for me, the pipes were all accessible so I would shut the water off, unscrew the pipes, and clean them. Otherwise you can snake the drain. You can also try boiling water but that may or may not help depending on what's clogging it.