How to Prevent Kitchen Sink Plumbing Clogs
3 min read
Knowledgeable kitchen sink plumbing will save you many headaches. Locate and shut off both water shutoff valves under your sink clockwise before proceeding further with repairs.
Measure the distance from your floor to the drain outlet on your wall using a tape measure, which should ideally measure 16 inches or greater.
Soap Clogs
Soap scum can quickly accumulate around sinks and pipes. This white residue forms when soap, other hygienic cleaners and hard water that contains minerals combine. Though not directly responsible for drain clogs, soap scum may trap debris such as hair or dirt which clog drains – potentially slowing or blocking them completely.
Bar soaps can also contribute to clogged drains by drying out and solidifying within pipes, leaving behind large, sticky deposits of solid soap that clog drains. Liquid soaps tend to rinse away more evenly and thus lessen their chances of building up in drains.
Baking soda as a natural drain cleaner can effectively clear away soap scum and other small clogs without harming pipes. Pour one tablespoon of baking soda down your drain followed by several cups of hot water to break up and disperse clogs. Chemical drain cleaners should never be used; they damage pipes while being harmful to the environment.
Kids’ Toys
If your children love to pretend they’re kitchen helpers, this toy set might provide everything they need to develop their fine motor skills and unleash their imagination and creativity. Featuring a battery-operated sink equipped with color-changing faucet accessories that pump water from its reservoir into colored cups filled with plastic plates and cups as well as plastic utensils and more — as well as a pretend sink drain with plug that prevents children from washing their dolls’ hair over the real one – this set features everything they need for hours of pretending kitchen fun playtime fun!
Stray synthetic hair from toys can clog sink drains just as easily as strands of human hair, so use an auger, coat hanger or needle nose pliers to reach down into the drain passage and pull out any toys before they become clogs. Should the toy reach all the way into the toilet it will require professional plumbing services to handle removal.
Grease Clogs
Even if you take care to place cooking oil, meat scraps, and butter into a drain trap or garbage disposal unit, tiny bits of fat may still accumulate in your sink pipes, leading to potential clogging issues in your plumbing. These deposits could then harden over time resulting in an obstruction obstructing water flow resulting in an eventual sink clog.
Grease traps should be installed beneath your kitchen sink and regularly cleaned, since a buildup of grease can overwhelm drain pipes and sewer systems.
Once these greasy globs reach your city sewer lines, they can cause massive blockages that impact all homes in the area. Signs of a grease clog include foul odors that won’t go away, slow drainage and gurgling noises from down the drain. Chemical-based methods for unclogging drain pipes may cause corrosion; instead try pouring hot water down your drain in an attempt to dislodge and dissolve any grease clogs that form.
Two-Bay Sinks
Addition of an additional sink can make washing and rinsing dishes much simpler for busy cooks. If you prefer dual basin configuration, we offer NSF-certified two compartment stainless steel sinks as perfect solutions.
These units provide restaurants, food trucks and other establishments with limited space the ideal solution. Each side contains a large, divided sink designed to clean and fill stockpots from one end while on the other there’s a drainboard to collect any overflow. They’re great for washing stockpots between uses.
Installing a dual-basin sink requires selecting one compatible with your plumbing layout. Otherwise, a sanitary tee must be placed between both sinks to connect their drain tailpieces to this tee before attaching them directly to basket strainers via compression nuts – for commercial applications this may be best left to professionals but intermediate DIYers should be capable of managing this task successfully.
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