The kitchen is the heart of the home. It keeps everyone fueled up and running. The kids grab a bite before heading to school. You grab coffee and a bagel before driving to work. Then it might be a similar routine for dinner.
The kitchen sink’s role in all of this may go unnoticed when it’s doing its job. After every meal, it’s where you clean up and rinse the dishes. That’s your sinks job, but if it becomes clogged the entire family schedule may suddenly come to a halt. That’s when it may be time to call for help.
Talk to a Real Phoenix Plumber When a Kitchen Sink Backs-Up
Rooter and Plumbing Services is ready for your call anytime a drain emergency suddenly appears. When you call us, you’ll get to talk to a real plumber in Phoenix with extensive local know-how for any drain issue you might have.
We will listen to your concerns and get the right expert with the right tools headed your way. We also make sure we try the simplest solutions first. Our plumbers don’t want to start with the most expensive service possible only to find that an inexpensive fix would have cleared the issue. It saves us time and it will save you money.
Common Causes of Kitchen Sink Clogs
If we’re honest, we don’t always treat the kitchen drain as well as we should. Most families will send just about anything down the drain and expect it to be whisked far away.
In fact, what may be happening is those food particles and residue spiraling down the drain are building up along the sides of the drain pipe. The sink may drain slower and slower as the buildup continues until one day the food and water can’t go anywhere. You’ve got a clogged drain.
Here are a few of the common problems that can stop-up a kitchen sink:
- Food Particles – Bits of meat and vegetables are rinsed down the drain after each meal. Food like rice and pasta can expand with water once stuck in a pipe. Salad dressing is also a bad idea. Running leftover particles through a disposal can reduce the threat of a clog, but it can still lead to build-up after a while.
- Oils – Grease should not be sent down your drain. If you pour in hot substances like vegetable oil, butter, and bacon fat they will eventually solidify in your pipes. These things usually catch in the trap or u-shaped section of the pipe under your sink. If you send boiling water down a pipe to remove the oil build-up you are probably just moving the clog further down the pipes in your house where it will harder to reach.
- Soap Residue – After thousands of dishes and hands washed, soap can also build-up on the insides of pipes. Bar soap is particularly bad for leaving solid residue.
- Hair – Especially bad in bathrooms, but kitchen sinks can get clogged by hair too. Hair tends to hang from the bottom of your sink drain and entangle food matter like a spider with a web. Eventually, you have a clog made up of many different substances.
Tips to Keep Kitchen Drains Flowing
To keep your kitchen sink from backing-up there are a few things you can avoid. We’ve already talked about grease and fatty liquids. The basic rule of thumb is that if it seems like it would clog your arteries, it will also clog your drain.
Here are a few other things to keep out of your drains:
- Scrape plates over garbage cans. Try to keep as much food as possible out of your pipes.
- Don’t put eggshells down your drain. The shells dull out disposal blades.
- Don’t put coffee grinds down the sink. They like to clump together with other substances to stop-up drains.
- Keep fruit peelings out of your drain.
- Keep flour out of your sink. Flour turns into a paste when wet.
- Beware of produce stickers. They stick to the pipes and don’t dissolve.
A Plumbers Help with Kitchen Sink Clogs
If mealtime cleanup has become a drag because of a backed-up or slow-moving sink drain, it may be time to call in professional help.
The problem may be fixed by the simple removal of the sink trap or u-shaped pipe under the sink. If the clog is here, it can be easily cleared, cleaned up, and reattached. A professional can make sure the pipes go back in place and don’t leak once reinstalled.
An expert with Rooter & Plumbing Service of Phoenix can also try a plumber’s snake if the clog is further down the pipe. This auger uses a cable to clean the sides of the pipe as it feeds deeper and deeper until it bursts through the main clog.
For extreme blockages, especially if the blockage is further down the pipes in your home, a power drain cleaner using a rooter may have to be used. This machine can break through almost any clog and even tree roots that may have grown into your outside pipes to cause a back-up.
Contact Rooter and Plumbing Service In Phoenix
If your kitchen sink clog is holding up your family dinners give our plumbing professionals a call and talk to a real plumber. Our experts can figure out where the problem is and have it fixed before your next meal. We also won’t perform or charge you for extra services that you don’t need.
For a clogged drain line or any other plumbing project in Phoenix and the surrounding area contact Rooter and Plumbing Service.
