Cleaning your house: How to unblock a sink, bath or shower

  

  

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When it comes to cleaning the house the one job every hates the most is unblocking the sink. Bathroom sinks are usually worse than kitchen sinks because of all the hair that gets trapped from men shaving or ladies brushing their hair.

The following steps ensure that your sink will be draining as good as the day you bought it (inherited it).

Step One: Direct air in the right direction (block the overflow)

Trapped hair is can cause the water to drain slowly from your shower, bath, or sink. If you clean your sinks on a regular basis there will be no need for expensive chemicals to do the job for you.

If you don’t think that hair in the plug hole is the problem it’s time to get the plunger out. Firstly, to direct the air / water flow where you want it block the overflow with an old rag. This forces air / water down the u-bend instead of out the overflow. Turn on the tap so that the rubber part of the plunger is covered with water

Step Two: Pump The Plunger And Rinse

Cover the plug hole with the plunger and pump the plunger quickly and with a decent amount of force. This will force a jet of water down to the blocked section and hopefully will break down the blockage. Remove the plunger and run tap for a few seconds to see if the water drains away at a quicker speed now. This should remove any loose debris.

Step Three: Empty out the sink

If the water is still in the sink then this hasn’t worked and the blockage is still in place. Scoop out the water from the sink with a plastic beaker / jug and place a bucket under the u-bend (trap). Unscrew the collars from either end of the u-bend (careful as dirty water could be trapped in the pipe).

Step Four: Remove & Clean the u-bend

Remove the u-bend and clean with pipe cleaners. While doing this also check the plughole and adjoining pipes for debris and hair too. Warm soapy water should do the trick for this job. Once finished reattach the u-bend to the other pipes, screw firmly into place and run the water again.

These four simples steps should ensure that your water drains quickly again for your sink, bath or shower.