Did a sink cleaner clog my air gap?
Sink cleaners can leave residue that clogs an air gap, causing water to gush out unexpectedly. This makes it difficult to know whether you need to take the entire pipe out to inspect and clear the blockage.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1checking if the garbage disposal plug was removedDid this help you?
- 2reaming out the blockage with a modified coat hangerDid this help you?
- 3using a vacuum to suck up debris followed by pouring hot waterDid this help you?
- 4manually opening a gate valve on a weeping hole connection to relieve pressureDid this help you?
- 5Drilling out weep hole obstructions with a drill bit and clearing them with an air compressorDid this help you?
- 6Using pest sprays around entry pointsDid this help you?
- 7Removing faulty caulk and reapplying waterproof silicone or groutDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I find that often times these are clogged from dirt or mortar so about once a year I’ll drill them out with a drill bit to clear the obstruction then use a compressor to blow air through the hole to confirm that it is clear and that air flow is traveling properly.”source ↗
“Also I have very small ants entering my home through these holes and can’t seem to get ride of them.”source ↗
“I have places where the silicone is not properly sealing the areas that siding is attached/ windows are installed etc.”source ↗
“Anyone have any solutions to a sump pump and check valve that keep getting air locked ?”source ↗
“Last night it must have been air locked and we got lots of rain and the basement partially flooded.”source ↗
“Just used a cleaner on it but based on this I feel like the cleaner clogged it more . I’ve never seen water gush out like this. Do I need to take the entire pipe out to inspect it?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 34How to unclog a drain blocked by hardened materials
- 21How to clean up acorns from loose gravel without losing stones