Why Kitchen Pipes Become Clogged and What to Do About It in Wilmington

When kitchen pipes become clogged, it can be a nightmare. This is why it’s so important to know what causes clogs in the first place, and how to prevent them from happening.

Minor clogs are usually easy to clear up using household tools, but they can also suggest that something is wrong with your plumbing assembly. This may mean there’s a buildup of soap residue, fats, hair, or other organic materials that can’t be easily wiped out and must be cleaned up by a plumber.

Common clogged kitchen in Wilmington are caused by cooking grease, food waste, excessive soap scum and hair. These substances float in the water, forming a thick, sticky mass that can clog your sink’s drain pipe or trap.

The first step is to use a plunger to break up the clog and get it free from your kitchen drain. The plunger is an inexpensive tool that can be purchased from most hardware stores and home improvement centers.

You should position the plunger over your clogged sink and make 6 even, up-and-down thrusts. This will force the clog out of your kitchen sink and prevent it from recurring.

After you’ve removed the clog, check your drain trap (the U-shaped part of the drain pipe under your sink). You can usually unscrew this trap by hand, but if not, you might need to use a plumber’s snake to loosen it up and remove any accumulated mass.

If you’ve tried a plunger and the clog is still there, try heating your drain trap. This will melt the grease clogging the trap and help clear it up.

Another way to unclog your drain is to use a wire snake. This is an inexpensive, manual-cranking device that sends a line of wire through the drain pipes to clear out clogs.

You can find a wire snake in most hardware and home improvement stores for about $30-$50, and they are often longer and more powerful than the typical plungers. They often feature a hook or twisted tip on the end of the wire that you can insert through the drain to break up the clog or pull it out if necessary.

In some cases, a tree root can grow in the drainage pipe underneath your sink and cause a clog that can’t be broken up with a plunger or wire snake. This is more common in winter when water doesn’t stay as humid or warm and the roots can get a head start on growing toward the drain pipe.

Other clogs are a result of too-large chunks of foods that don’t break down and can slough off into the drain. This can happen with eggshells, coffee grinds, baby carrots and other items that haven’t broken down in the garbage disposal.

The best way to avoid a clog is to be aware of the potential for these types of blockages and to keep your drains clean. This means avoiding the clogging substances above and getting rid of excess grease, coffee grounds and food scraps as soon as possible after they’re used up in your cooking process.

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