Homeowner pleads for help after sink remains clogged despite countless fixes: 'Thank you for saving me a plumber's bill'

A homeowner was fresh out of ideas for their badly clogged sink and looking to avoid a costly plumber visit. Fortunately, a Redditor came to the rescue and saved them from forking over cash.

The scoop

Posting on the r/fixit subreddit, they revealed that their sink was clogged after some haphazard use of the garbage disposal by their wife.

"She cleaned out the fridge and dumped all of our leftovers in the disposal, including what I believe was nearly an entire box of kraft mac and cheese," they revealed.

This eventually led to a full-on sink backup. They admitted they were in a pickle, as they were out of work due to a disability and not looking to pay for a plumber.

In their post title, they shared that they had "tried vinegar/baking soda, boiling water, plunger, [and] checked p-trap." They even used a hanger as a makeshift snake, but that only worked temporarily. The OP concluded by asking if they should throw in the towel and call the plumber or keep at it with the vinegar or baking soda.

The answer was actually neither, as one Reddit user showed them how to properly unleash their plunger on the problem.

"In using a plunge for a kitchen sink you need to make sure that any other pipes leading into the same drain are sealed off," they pointed out. Their post explained how dual sinks and dishwasher lines need to be sealed up to make the plunger effective.

They did have some backups from there, including buying a drain auger. They advised against chemicals, noting that "it could be very bad for your pipes depending on the chemical itself and the type of pipes you use" and acknowledging it could be dangerous for themselves or the plumber.

How it's helping

The OP found success with the other user's plunger advice, confirming that "this is what eventually worked for me." 

"I'm an idiot and forgot to seal off the disposal side of the sink," they admitted. "Took a couple tries … until I heard a loud slurp followed by a functional drain."

How much money do you plan to spend on home improvement projects this year? Under $1K $1K to $5K $5K to $10K Over $10K Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

The reservations about using chemicals were also spot-on. Using a natural method like baking soda or vinegar is preferable to dangerous chemicals that can damage your pipes, threaten the environment, and pose health risks.

Tapping into a plunger that most homeowners already have will also save money on buying new products or getting a plumber. In the future, another helpful move for the OP will be trying to do more with their leftovers and reducing their household's contribution to our food waste problem.

What everyone's saying

Redditors were reaping the benefits of the advice.

"A plunger, so simple yet so effective," one wrote. "Thank you for saving me a plumber's bill."

"Thank you covering the other drain was so helpful … it helped us a lot after trying to unclog our sink after almost an hour," another posted.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.