What workarounds did people try for "Why does my sink drain keep clogging up?"?

Community members documented 94 workarounds: 1. Using a plunger 2. Calling a professional plumber 3. Manually removing liquid from the sink instead of letting it drain 4. Trying to manually fix the plumbing setup oneself 5. Replacing the accordion trap with a normal one and modifying the dishwasher tailpiece extension 6. Cleaning out the drain stopper and pipe 7. Placing a hollow cylinder over the drain holes to test for air lock 8. Drilling out holes in the drain strainer to create a vent 9. Unclogging or replacing the pipe 10. Getting the line snaked to remove roots 11. Modifying the PVC pipe to create a clean out 12. Detaching the downspout from the underground system and using an above-ground extension 13. Digging up and replacing the pipe with a shovel 14. Hiring a plumber 15. Waiting for maintenance to respond 16. manually bailing the wastewater with a mug 17. putting pans underneath the dishwasher to collect water 18. running a fan to dry up the area 19. sending photo updates on the maintenance request 20. taking apart the PVC and washing them out 21. snaking the system down toward the septic 22. Using baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water 23. Using a thin drain snake 24. Cleaning the grease trap biweekly 25. Taking apart the plumbing and running a snake through the pipes 26. Replacing the drain assembly with a different style 27. Accepting the standing water as normal for that hardware design 28. Using Drano for temporary relief 29. Using a plunger to force the drain to burp air and drain quicker 30. Using a small drain snake or hair puller 31. Unscrewing or removing the drain plug 32. Pouring boiling water down the overflow 33. Using boiling water 34. Pouring chemical drain cleaners like Drano 35. Removing the U-trap 36. Putting dish soap and warm water down the drain 37. Trying to clean the wall pipe connection with a small brush 38. Watching instructional videos online 39. Clearing the trap 40. Running a snake through the drain 41. Removing step-up fittings and lowering the P-trap/sink connection 42. Plunging 43. Opening the cap-based p-trap 44. Using Dawn and hot water 45. Using a wire hanger to manually drag out blockage 46. Planning to use baking soda, vinegar, bleach, a master plunger, or a drain snake 47. Tried plunging the sink without success 48. Considered using chemical drain cleaner like Drano 49. Considered disassembling the P-trap 50. Snaking the drain line 51. Posting a photo of the plumbing under the sink 52. Using Draino 53. Using a snake 54. Using a hair clog tool from the top via the pop-up stopper 55. Replacing the trap entirely with a tubular setup instead of trying to clean it 56. Trying to snake the drain pipe yourself 57. Calling a professional plumber or drain cleaning company 58. Scraping leftover food into the trash before washing dishes 59. Using ice cubes and cold water to scour and clean the garbage disposal 60. Replacing or clearing out the P-trap and drain lines 61. Replacing the bendy tube with a new one 62. Cleaning out visible gunk and debris from the pipe in the wall 63. Using a top snake or kitchen eel to clear the drain 64. Applying chemical drain openers like Instant Power or degreasers 65. Pouring hot water and vinegar down the drain 66. Using chemical drain cleaners or Viper Pan and Drain Cleaner 67. Running a snake down the drain to clear the blockage 68. Calling a plumber 69. Checking if the tenant is using cheap detergent or improper grease disposal 70. Pouring drain cleaner down the drain 71. Snaking further down the line 72. Replacing old metal pipes elsewhere in the house 73. using a garden hose with a fireman nozzle to unclog the line 74. buying a 100-foot camera and jet kit to inspect and clear the vent and lines 75. Cleaning out the sink's p-trap to remove partial clogs. 76. Replacing flexible accordion pipes with rigid, properly sloped straight pipes. 77. Installing an air admittance valve (AAV) to properly vent the drain line. 78. Scraping all plates and bowls into the trash before washing 79. Using a metal mesh strainer over the drain to catch food bits 80. Never pouring liquid grease or solid fats down the drain 81. Pouring boiling water down the drain once a week to melt small buildup 82. Using 1/2 cup of washing soda followed by hot water to clear minor buildup 83. Keeping a short-handled plunger under the kitchen sink 84. Buying and installing a fine mesh sink strainer 85. Disposing of all food and grease before washing 86. Washing dishes in a separate plastic dishpan and filtering the water 87. Taking apart and cleaning the p-trap 88. Using a mini sink plunger 89. Running a hand auger down the pipe 90. Using a heavy-duty drain snake or cleaner 91. Removing a toilet to snake the pipe out from above 92. Adding a cleanout tee to make future snaking easier 93. Replacing the junction with a long sweep wye oriented in the direction of flow 94. Cutting a section of vertical pipe to inspect the transition to older iron pipes

Why does my sink drain keep clogging up?

P-trap blockages are often caused by buildup from past habits like toothpaste or potential plumbing pipe height issues. Because professional repairs are unaffordable, homeowners must rely on DIY cleaning methods to keep the drain clear.

Overview

Last updated Nov 4, 2026

People affected30 accounts across 5 forums

Workarounds found94 items attempted

Community agreement56 total upvotes

What the numbers show

Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count

People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
This comes up 17.5× more often in r/Plumbing than across the site as a whole.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

94 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

1
Using a plunger
3 people mentioned
Did this help you?
2
Calling a professional plumber
2 people mentioned
Did this help you?
3
Manually removing liquid from the sink instead of letting it drain
2 people mentioned
Did this help you?
4
Trying to manually fix the plumbing setup oneself
Did this help you?
5
Replacing the accordion trap with a normal one and modifying the dishwasher tailpiece extension
Did this help you?
6
Cleaning out the drain stopper and pipe
Did this help you?
7
Placing a hollow cylinder over the drain holes to test for air lock
Did this help you?
8
Drilling out holes in the drain strainer to create a vent
Did this help you?
9
Unclogging or replacing the pipe
Did this help you?
10
Getting the line snaked to remove roots
Did this help you?
11
Modifying the PVC pipe to create a clean out
Did this help you?
12
Detaching the downspout from the underground system and using an above-ground extension
Did this help you?
13
Digging up and replacing the pipe with a shovel
Did this help you?
14
Hiring a plumber
Did this help you?
15
Waiting for maintenance to respond
Did this help you?
16
manually bailing the wastewater with a mug
Did this help you?
17
putting pans underneath the dishwasher to collect water
Did this help you?
18
running a fan to dry up the area
Did this help you?
19
sending photo updates on the maintenance request
Did this help you?
20
taking apart the PVC and washing them out
Did this help you?
21
snaking the system down toward the septic
Did this help you?
22
Using baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water
Did this help you?
23
Using a thin drain snake
Did this help you?
24
Cleaning the grease trap biweekly
Did this help you?
25
Taking apart the plumbing and running a snake through the pipes
Did this help you?
26
Replacing the drain assembly with a different style
Did this help you?
27
Accepting the standing water as normal for that hardware design
Did this help you?
28
Using Drano for temporary relief
Did this help you?
29
Using a plunger to force the drain to burp air and drain quicker
Did this help you?
30
Using a small drain snake or hair puller
Did this help you?
31
Unscrewing or removing the drain plug
Did this help you?
32
Pouring boiling water down the overflow
Did this help you?
33
Using boiling water
Did this help you?
34
Pouring chemical drain cleaners like Drano
Did this help you?
35
Removing the U-trap
Did this help you?
36
Putting dish soap and warm water down the drain
Did this help you?
37
Trying to clean the wall pipe connection with a small brush
Did this help you?
38
Watching instructional videos online
Did this help you?
39
Clearing the trap
Did this help you?
40
Running a snake through the drain
Did this help you?
41
Removing step-up fittings and lowering the P-trap/sink connection
Did this help you?
42
Plunging
Did this help you?
43
Opening the cap-based p-trap
Did this help you?
44
Using Dawn and hot water
Did this help you?
45
Using a wire hanger to manually drag out blockage
Did this help you?
46
Planning to use baking soda, vinegar, bleach, a master plunger, or a drain snake
Did this help you?
47
Tried plunging the sink without success
Did this help you?
48
Considered using chemical drain cleaner like Drano
Did this help you?
49
Considered disassembling the P-trap
Did this help you?
50
Snaking the drain line
Did this help you?
51
Posting a photo of the plumbing under the sink
Did this help you?
52
Using Draino
Did this help you?
53
Using a snake
Did this help you?
54
Using a hair clog tool from the top via the pop-up stopper
Did this help you?
55
Replacing the trap entirely with a tubular setup instead of trying to clean it
Did this help you?
56
Trying to snake the drain pipe yourself
Did this help you?
57
Calling a professional plumber or drain cleaning company
Did this help you?
58
Scraping leftover food into the trash before washing dishes
Did this help you?
59
Using ice cubes and cold water to scour and clean the garbage disposal
Did this help you?
60
Replacing or clearing out the P-trap and drain lines
Did this help you?
61
Replacing the bendy tube with a new one
Did this help you?
62
Cleaning out visible gunk and debris from the pipe in the wall
Did this help you?
63
Using a top snake or kitchen eel to clear the drain
Did this help you?
64
Applying chemical drain openers like Instant Power or degreasers
Did this help you?
65
Pouring hot water and vinegar down the drain
Did this help you?
66
Using chemical drain cleaners or Viper Pan and Drain Cleaner
Did this help you?
67
Running a snake down the drain to clear the blockage
Did this help you?
68
Calling a plumber
Did this help you?
69
Checking if the tenant is using cheap detergent or improper grease disposal
Did this help you?
70
Pouring drain cleaner down the drain
Did this help you?
71
Snaking further down the line
Did this help you?
72
Replacing old metal pipes elsewhere in the house
Did this help you?
73
using a garden hose with a fireman nozzle to unclog the line
Did this help you?
74
buying a 100-foot camera and jet kit to inspect and clear the vent and lines
Did this help you?
75
Cleaning out the sink's p-trap to remove partial clogs.
Did this help you?
76
Replacing flexible accordion pipes with rigid, properly sloped straight pipes.
Did this help you?
77
Installing an air admittance valve (AAV) to properly vent the drain line.
Did this help you?
78
Scraping all plates and bowls into the trash before washing
Did this help you?
79
Using a metal mesh strainer over the drain to catch food bits
Did this help you?
80
Never pouring liquid grease or solid fats down the drain
Did this help you?
81
Pouring boiling water down the drain once a week to melt small buildup
Did this help you?
82
Using 1/2 cup of washing soda followed by hot water to clear minor buildup
Did this help you?
83
Keeping a short-handled plunger under the kitchen sink
Did this help you?
84
Buying and installing a fine mesh sink strainer
Did this help you?
85
Disposing of all food and grease before washing
Did this help you?
86
Washing dishes in a separate plastic dishpan and filtering the water
Did this help you?
87
Taking apart and cleaning the p-trap
Did this help you?
88
Using a mini sink plunger
Did this help you?
89
Running a hand auger down the pipe
Did this help you?
90
Using a heavy-duty drain snake or cleaner
Did this help you?
91
Removing a toilet to snake the pipe out from above
Did this help you?
92
Adding a cleanout tee to make future snaking easier
Did this help you?
93
Replacing the junction with a long sweep wye oriented in the direction of flow
Did this help you?
94
Cutting a section of vertical pipe to inspect the transition to older iron pipes
Did this help you?

Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/Plumbing27 people · September 2026 – November 2026

“A tenant reported that their kitchen sink is getting clogged.”source ↗

ThrowRAthisthingisvl · r/Plumbing · 9 upvotes

“The cleanout would clog, then I'd use a garden hose with fireman nozzle (for full stream) and it would unclog. A week would go by and clog again.”source ↗

“Not sure, but having to unclog drain sewer once a week sucks.”source ↗

getaclue777 · r/Plumbing · 5 upvotes

“Recently moved into this house, and this small sink is consistently blocking up, the trap is clear, I am unsure about the waste pipe yet though but it isn’t holding water when I cleared the trap.”source ↗

Wise-Interaction6189 · r/Plumbing · 4 upvotes

“Washing machine did full cycle, but when draining this pipe started to overflow and went all over the basement floor.”source ↗

Chance_Bother8226 · r/Plumbing · 4 upvotes

“I moved into a home that was built in the 1970’s, is on septic and the kitchen sink has a very slow drain.”source ↗

“When running the tap water, the drain doesn’t keep up with the water flow. It will quickly back-fill and very slow to drain.”source ↗

“I have already taken apart the PVC and washed them out. They had a normal amount of grease but no clogging. I have snaked the system down toward the septic 25’ (the length of my snake). There were no obstructions. Still the sinks fill.”source ↗

jkcksoup · r/Plumbing · 3 upvotes

“My shower got clogged and this debris came out the drain. What should I do?”source ↗

Dapper-Grand-2029 · r/Plumbing · 2 upvotes

“kitchen sink backing up with wastewater and flooding my dishwasher, now overflowing onto the floor from the dishwasher.”source ↗

“Saturday morning I woke up with a ton of greasy wastewater on the floor, coming from the dishwasher.”source ↗

Gbdgreen · r/Plumbing · 2 upvotes

“Sink (single) is backing up, especially when dishwasher is running. Plunger has not been particularly effective. Will drain slowly over time.”source ↗

Readmymind · r/Plumbing · 2 upvotes

“Afternoon, the area that’s highlighted in red is where overflow of food routed from the garbage disposal builds up. Does anyone have a an idea what’s causing this and what I can do to fix it ?”source ↗

Murphyedition_789 · r/Plumbing · 2 upvotes

“The p trap keeps getting clogged up. I read that the pipe going out of the back may be too high up. But I cant afford to have that fixed right now.”source ↗

Butterfly_Violets · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“is it time for me to clean my sink”source ↗

“when i was younger id put big globs of toothpaste down this sink for like 2 years straight so thats probably an issue there”source ↗

“it’s occasionally stinky but i do live on the beach as well”source ↗

AirportIcy9303 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“It can often take almost half an hour to drain sometimes.”source ↗

“I cleaned the trap and snaked the drain up to 25ft but got nothing.”source ↗

Classicrock2095 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“The shower drain has been making this annoying sound non-stop for about a week now.”source ↗

“We put in a maintenance request but it’s taking a long time for them to get back to us. Any advice on how to fix it?”source ↗

anonymous98787 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“When I unscrew the individual components, I can't even separate them enough to take them off and clean them, they seem to be glued together.”source ↗

Doodledumme · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“When I tried to unscrew all three circled spots to remove it, it wouldn't budge. 🤷‍♀️”source ↗

Doodledumme · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“The grease trap is cleaned biweekly, or water doesn't drain at all.”source ↗

rickiebobby89 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“It has had issues for years, occasionally stuff has gotten stuck in the p trap, but even when not we still have drainage issues”source ↗

rickiebobby89 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“If you look inside the drain, there are star-shaped metal crossbars/spokes, but underneath them there seems to be another recessed level. Water tends to collect there instead of draining freely, which makes the drain noticeably slower.”source ↗

KernicPanel · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“I have used boiling water, drano, take the U trap out, put dish soap and warm water down there.”source ↗

“Now the part that connects to the wall I tried to clean with a small brush. A lot of black comes out of it, maybe the cause of slow draining is in the pipe connecting the wall?”source ↗

“What should I do?”source ↗

Odd_Television_6671 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“Accidentally had a significant amount of oil go down the sink. I'm an idiot and already kicking myself.”source ↗

“If I open the faucet in one sink, water comes back up the other drainage hole and starts to pool.”source ↗

“Please help, this makes dish washing impossible and im all out of pots lol.”source ↗

endofthelie · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment building and my sinks are completely clogged.”source ↗

“5 days ago we had a drain guy snake the drain with an industrial drill snake and it was running nice. Now it’s clogged again.”source ↗

“I also worry if I take apart the P trap that it will overflow from the clog down below”source ↗

thicc__succ · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“Help! Our bathroom sink continuously clogs even after using draino and snaking it.”source ↗

“There seems to be a hex nut at the bottom of it and I am wondering what kind of bit turns it.”source ↗

ChickenFugget2 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“I did try that already. It doesn't reach far enough to get to the clog.”source ↗

ChickenFugget2 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“Fair enough, I’m not putting food directly down the drain it’s going through the garbage disposal first then building up in that area. But thanks.”source ↗

Murphyedition_789 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“I only say this because I replace the trap every year because of this, thanks dad”source ↗

tihspeed71 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“How can I fix the slope? I removed the P-trap and didn’t see any clogs.”source ↗

ThrowRAthisthingisvl · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“Interesting. As soon as I pour some water, it gets clogged.”source ↗

ThrowRAthisthingisvl · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“My utility sink in my basement is draining very slowly.”source ↗

“Am I correct to think that if I replace that ridiculous accordion pipe with straight pipe, and shorten the sink tailpipe, I can resolve the issues with this trap?”source ↗

SoundAcceptable3381 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“We are having an issue of a slow drain.”source ↗

“I have taken apart the p-trap and checked the actual piping with an auger and can get about 4 ft in before it just bunches up on itself.”source ↗

“Our sink starts filling up within 10-20 secs because the drain is so bad.”source ↗

“And we have used the mini sink plungers and it doesn't do anything.”source ↗

MessMyPants · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“The toilet being flushed keeps clogging presumably where the white arrow is.”source ↗

“I know bc the two side PVC pipes lead to the kitchen sink and washer and they back up when this clog occurs.”source ↗

“It's happened now a 3rd time. To clear it, I've taken the upstairs toilet off and snaked the pipe out.”source ↗

“What can I do to stop this?”source ↗

Abject-Effect-7965 · r/Plumbing · 1 upvotes

“My bathroom sink in my apartment keeps draining slowly, the. The drain burps air by itself and it'll drain a little better, or more often I'll use the plunger to make it burp air to make it drain quicker.”source ↗

“I've used Drano several times, and it helps temporarily, but comes back in a day.”source ↗

“I've tried to use a small drain snake / hair puller but it gets stuck on some kinda hardware in the drain very quickly and easily.”source ↗

SnoopyBootchies · r/Plumbing

“As soon as it was done the sink is not draining properly.”source ↗

“Now the dishwasher is not being used and the sink is not draining properly - the water goes down very slowly.”source ↗

“I just don't want to call a plumber if the issue is the dishwasher.”source ↗

Sara2031 · r/Plumbing

“Saturday morning my dishwasher was full of water, sink was not draining (black hose).”source ↗

“I took out all tubes in this pic, and got as much as I could from the pipe in the wall, and there was a TON of gunk.”source ↗

“But its still clogged”source ↗

“Is it time to call a plumber?”source ↗

Haktic · r/Plumbing

“How do I unclog it? Or do I need a plumber to come look at it”source ↗

Chance_Bother8226 · r/Plumbing

r/HomeMaintenance1 person · October 2026

“I'm concerned that my home life is difficult because there are other basic things I don't know, though. I want to learn home maintenance”source ↗

laptopgardens · r/HomeMaintenance · 2 upvotes

“My apartment came with a stopper that prevents any water from going down the drain. I have a weird routine where I manually remove liquid from the sink instead of letting it go down the drain. This is pretty exhausting though, and I let liquid sit in my sink for weeks because of how much effort is involved.”source ↗

laptopgardens · r/HomeMaintenance

r/hvacadvice1 person · October 2026

“The overflow occurs after the A/C has been on for awhile.”source ↗

Select-Ad-4337 · r/hvacadvice · 1 upvotes

“The circled part is filling up with water and is spilling out onto my basement floor.”source ↗

“Just recently purchased this home. This never happened during inspection or walk throughs.”source ↗

Select-Ad-4337 · r/hvacadvice

r/CleaningTips1 person · October 2026

“My apartment came with a (removable) stopper that prevents any water from going down the drain. I have a weird routine where I manually remove liquid from the sink instead of letting it go down the drain.”source ↗

“This is pretty exhausting though, and I let dirty liquid sit in my sink for weeks because of how much effort is involved.”source ↗

“Instead of relying on self-control, I want to make my life easier. What is the proper etiquette for preventing the kitchen sink from clogging?”source ↗

laptopgardens · r/CleaningTips

r/homeowners1 person · September 2026

“I have one that does the same. No idea where it goes or how to unclog it. Following!”source ↗

Junkhead187 · r/homeowners