“It was our first time hosting Thanksgiving and I have to say everything went great!” Rosita is still exuberant over how well serving her parents, younger sister, and best friend a turkey dinner with all the trimmings actually went. “I was nervous about pretty much all of it, but it went really well.” There’s just one problem. After washing every dish she owns, including all of her pots and pans, as part of the post-feast clean up, Rosita’s kitchen sink is draining very slowly. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do now,” she said. “Is this something I can fix on my own or do I need to call the plumber?”
The first thing you should do if your sink is draining very slowly is to check the drain at the bottom of the basin. If there is food debris there, it can block the passage of the water and slow drainage. Remove the debris and toss it in the garbage. If your sink starts draining rapidly again, you have fixed the problem.
If the sink is still draining slowly, or you can see no debris in the drain, you can attempt to remedy the situation by pouring boiling hot water down the drain. This will melt and dislodge any clogs that are formed by grease. DIY sites often recommend using a combination of vinegar and baking soda to dislodge clogs; this can work as well as many commercial drain cleaners available at the grocery store.
At this point, if your sink is still draining slowly, you’ll want to call your NYC plumber. Clogs that can not be cleared by these simple DIY solutions are often located further down in the drain pipes, and require special tools to be cleared. Luckily, having most sink clogs resolved is quick and affordable, and you will be able to enjoy having a properly working kitchen sink again.
