Water is backing up into the sink: causes & quick fixes

In our life, we can’t avoid facing different problems and other unforeseen circumstances. And plumbery appliance challenges are not that exception. Every device and system has its serviceable life, and everything is prone to various malfunctions and wear & tear. Therefore, it is essential to promptly spot and eliminate any obstacles, whether simple drain clogging or severe sewage failures.

This article will focus on blockages that occur in sinks, whether in your kitchen and bathroom. Everyone should know the culprits and the various ways to win in such a complicated struggle!

Clogged kitchen sink – severe disaster or minor threat?

The kitchen is one of the most active rooms in our house. Try to remember at least one day when you did not use this room. It is the kitchen that takes on the significant workload from human activity. And the sink is no exception. Every day small debris gets there, which eventually becomes the cause of the blockage and our great stress.

Unfortunately, some people neglect many essential operating tips and rules when their kitchen sink clogged. That is why clogging issues are the most popular ones in the plumbing repair practice.

What kind of garbage is so bad for the state of our kitchen drain?

In general, any impurities that enter your drain are already potential pests that will easily do their “dirty work.” Of course, water flow can handle tiny debris, but some food trash can easily get stuck in your sewers. Also, grease entering the sewer line is often the cause of backed up sink drain.

Experts distinguish two types of blockages. Let’s call them blockages of the first and second degree:

  • Clog of the first degree, also called a partial clog, is not super complicated, even for self-elimination. The main symptom of partial blockage of the sewer is slow water drainage. The culprit for such an issue is the stagnation of water in plumbing fixtures.
  • A second-degree blockage is much more severe. Its danger lies in the complete obstruction of water through the drain. Therefore, such a problem can easily lead to a flood. In the second type of blockage, it is highly discouraged to deal with the nuisance alone. Entrust this business to specialists. Our company is always ready to help you in such a challenging circumstance.

It is, of course, best to try to avoid even a slight chance of backup. For this, plumbers advise carrying out preventive cleaning of the sewer line using baking soda and salt at least once a month. There are also special waste disposal devices. There is a wide selection of these devices from various reliable manufacturers.

How to unclog a kitchen sink?

First of all, to avoid problems with the operation of the sewage system, it is crucial to install it correctly. There are often cases of incorrect installation of the entire sewer line in plumbing practice, performed by people without proper preparation.

It is a problem of an unprofessional installation that often leads to blockages. Since many factors are not taken into account when designing a sewer system. The most widespread mistake is the wrong angle of inclination of the sewer pipe. Because of this, the speed of water flow through the pipes may decrease, and blockages may form.

Secondly, when self-installing sewer pipes in a house, the roots of trees that grow in the area are often not taken into account. Trees grow, and with them, a root system develops, which mercilessly destroys pipes.

Let’s look at ways to eliminate blockages from your sinks using the double kitchen sink as an example. Canadians often choose this type of sink because this type is very convenient for commercial and domestic purposes. If you are the lucky owner of this sink model, you probably also installed garbage disposal. Since it is this device that takes the direct damage, it can ultimately cause water obstruction. Therefore, it is worth checking the correct functioning of the garbage disposal first. Let’s get down to business!

First, do not forget to disconnect the appliance from the mains. Our first target is the splash guard. It is this part that most often collects all small debris, food debris and fat. You can use your old toothbrush as a cleaning accessory or any other brush you have in your home. Many wastes accumulate on the part’s underside, so try to remove all the trash here!

Remember we talked about the benefits of regular table salt? Further, we will use it exactly. When combined with vinegar, the baking soda is strong enough to remove plaque and other blemishes that your toothbrush has failed to address. First, add half a glass of baking soda to the device and wait 20 minutes. Then add about one glass of vinegar. An excellent chemical reaction awaits you, after which the garbage disposal will be cleared.

It would be more productive to seek professional help. Our company is always glad to eliminate all your plumbing unpleasantness around the clock!

How to avoid basement drain backup?

A basement drain in your house quite often takes on all the damage of a sewer blockage. The elementary laws of physics easily explain this: pressurized water is looking for the “easiest” way to get out of a clogged sewer. The victim of this “easy method” is most often your basement drain.

It would seem that if the dirty sewage water comes from the drain in the basement, then the blockage should be somewhere in the immediate vicinity. But in most cases, the water in your basement comes from blockages that can be anywhere in the sewer line.

Also, many homes have a basement sink drain, which is also often backed up. In such cases, it is best to entrust the elimination of the blockage or any other plumbing obstacle to knowledgeable people. Since the cause of the problem can be anywhere, only professional plumbers can efficiently detect it and eliminate it.

What are the most common culprits of basement utility sink backing up? There are a couple of circumstances when your washing machine is the cause of this trouble. Unfortunately, the filter on the drain hose is prone to clogging. But it will not be difficult to clean it of small debris. It would help if you rinsed the drain hose with wastewater. That’s it!

The next likely cause is blockages on the upper floors of your home. And again. That is how physics works: due to a clogged toilet or a siphon in your kitchen sink, somewhere on the second floor, some plumbing in your basement or on the first floor will probably suffer from backup.

Very often, household members themselves try to find and fix the problem. When faced with a blockage of plumbing in the basement, the first thing they do is try to remove the blockage in the same place, which most likely does not even exist. An incorrect diagnosis leads to unpleasant and more difficult consequences for elimination.

Hence, we recommend that you seek help from qualified specialists, who even have the opportunity to examine your entire sewer line for blockages and other potential problems using CCTV cameras.

Our local plumbing engineers are always glad to rise to the challenge of basement drain backing up and eliminate it as quickly as possible.

How to clean your sink drain?

We have already informed you about the magic baking soda in the matter of unclogging your drains. But the chemical industry never stands still. And besides this wonderful alkali, there is a wide variety of chemicals to clean sink drain.

Many scientists assure the health hazards of any chemical cleaning agent. At least, this is the conclusion reached by scientists from the University of Bergen in Norway. Their experiment was attended by about 6 thousand people who cleaned their dwellings at least every week. Many participants developed a tendency to frequent respiratory diseases, allergies and even bronchial asthma.

Are the sewer pipe chemicals harmful to the sewer line itself?

If you often resort to using them, then definitely. Most of these detergents contain corrosive substances that destroy everything in their path. Therefore, long-term use of this method can lead to the destruction of the pipe and, consequently, even more, significant problems. We do not recommend that you often resort to the chemical method of removing blockages as it is harmful both for you and for the sewer line and the environment.

Therefore, if your face sink backing up, it is better to use regular baking soda and vinegar. If this method does not work for you, it will be more beneficial to use professional approaches to cleaning the sewerage line.

Professional drain cleaning

Comprehensive and professional drain cleaning methods will help you fix any plumbing malfunction much more effectively.

One of the most effective ways to deal with blockages in your sink is the hydrodynamic method. Water is supplied into the pipe under high pressure, which destroys all accumulated dirt and debris in the pipes. This method is widely used for exterior sewer lines. Before using it, a technician examines your sewer and looks for a blockage location, possibly even using a CCTV camera. And only after that, he gets to work. Various nozzles can be used to remove different types of blockages in pipes.

If the first option does not suit you, then snaking comes to the rescue of your sewers! This is a metal wire that the plumber pushes along the pipe right up to the blockage. With the help of this seemingly uncomplicated and slightly primitive method, many types of severe clogging problems can be discharged. Even though a snaking kit is sold in any plumbing store, we still advise you to contact specialists, as careless use of metal wire can seriously damage the drain or pipe.