5-MIN JOB

Kitchen · monster 4 of 5

How to unblock a slow kitchen sink

Meet Glug. The water’s taking the scenic route.

Scare-o-meter1/5

Usually grease and food bits. Most sinks clear without a plumber.

FIRST MOVE

Pull out anything you can see in the plughole.

BEAT IT FOR £0

With stuff already in your cupboard

Hot water + plunger

Pour a kettle of hot (not boiling) water with washing-up liquid down the drain, then plunge firmly a few times with the overflow covered.

Does it work? Yes. Plunging shifts more blockages than any trick.

BIG GUNS

If the free fix gives up

Plastic drain snake

Cheap, reusable, and pulls out what plunging can’t reach.

Myth or not? · Sort of

“Bicarb and vinegar unclog drains”

Great fizz, little proof it shifts a real blockage. Plunge first.

OOPS. DON’T…

  • Pouring fat down the sink.
  • Mixing different drain unblockers.

CALL A PRO IF…

Several drains are slow at once, or it smells of sewage. Call a plumber.

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