Common Reasons For A Clogged Bathroom Sink

When the sink in your bathroom is draining slowly, there could be a whole list of reasons for it. The first thing to do is to determine if the problem is isolated and only effects the sink. To do this you just drain the sink and flush the toilet at the same time. If your sink bubbles or gurgles when the toilet is flushed, then the problem is bigger than just the sink, and has more to do with your plumbing system.

Just to be safe, you can run the kitchen sink and flush the toilet at the same time to see if there is any change in the water pressure. It is most likely that if the toilet and sink do not effect one another, then the kitchen sink will be exempt from the problem also, but it is good to check and be safe.

There is probably a build-up of hair and soap scum in the drain line of your sink, so you will be trying to clear the clog with these tips:

• While you are most familiar with the drain hole in your sink, there is actually another hole in the sink. It is smaller and located on the opposite side of the sink from the faucet. It is called the overflow hole. This is where all of the water goes when your kids “accidently” fill the sink up with water. Block the overflow hole with a piece of duct tape to create a good suction, and then use a drain plunger to plunge the bathroom sink drain.
• If plunging the sink drain doesn’t work, you will need to use something a bit more invasive. Under the sink in the cabinet, you can that there is a horizontal piece of pipe that connects the sink drain to the wall, where the rest of the plumbing system carries the used water away. If the clog is in that horizontal piece of pipe, you will need to use a plumbing snake to push the clog through.

A problem with your plumbing system that is left unrepaired could get out of hand quickly. After you have been able to isolate the problem to just the sink, you can start on the following tips for fixing the problem.