How to Fix a Clogged Bathroom Sink

In most American homes, the bathroom sink is used for handwashing, face cleansing, tooth brushing, shaving, and more. When it’s clogged, these daily hygiene routines become frustrating or unfeasible. If the clog is severe enough, the pipes may crack, making it a plumbing emergency and requiring you to schedule leaky sink repairs. 

If one or multiple bathroom sinks in your home are clogged, contact an emergency plumber near you and try these tips and strategies to remove or soften the clogs.

Common Causes of Bathroom Sink Clogs

Bathroom sinks are designed to handle water and reasonable quantities of soap and toiletry debris. Over time, certain materials can accumulate and create clogs under the stopper, in the drain, in the curved pipes under the sink bowl or inside the pipes beyond it.

• Hair clumps: The average person loses 50 to 100 hair strands daily from natural causes. Many activities can drop hair into the sink, such as shaving, washing your face or brushing your hair. If too much hair ends up in the drain, it can bundle up inside your pipes and create clogs.

• Soap scum: Another common culprit of bathroom sink clogs is soap scum. Traditional bar soaps and some brands of liquid soap are made using natural fats and oils. These ingredients can react with the minerals in your tap water, forming soap scum that accumulates inside your pipes and resulting in clogs.

• Oils and greases: Many types of soap, creams, gels, and other hair care and beauty products are made with oil and grease. Over time, these can stick to the sides of your sink pipes, harden and contribute to clogs and blockages. Severe cases can damage your pipes and require plumbing sink repairs.

• Debris and foreign objects: When fixing clogged bathroom sinks, emergency plumbers frequently find debris and objects not intended to be flushed down the sink inside the pipes. Common culprits include toiletries like cotton swab bits, dental floss, and paper towel pieces. In households with children, small toys and plastic parts are also common causes of a clogged bathroom sink.

How to Fix Surface Clogs

Inspect your bathroom sink drain and locate the cause of your clog. If you can see it, it is likely a surface clog, where the blocking material is mostly concentrated under the stopper and before the P-trap (the curved pipe section under the bowl). Follow these steps to clear this type of clog while waiting for emergency plumbing services:

• Locate the mounting hardware securing the P-trap to the rest of your bathroom sink piping. 
  
• Disassemble the P-trap. Most P-traps use slip nuts that can be loosened by hand. You may need
  pliers or a pipe wrench if yours is too tight.
  
• Retrieve a bucket and place it under the pipe connecting your sink bowl.
  
• Put on safety gloves, then find a plumbing snake, hand auger or a straightened coat hanger hook. Insert the tool of your choice into your drain and manually pull the clog out. Let the clog and any debris fall into the bucket.
  
• Turn on the tap briefly to rinse the drain. The bucket should catch any water that falls out of the other side.
  
• Reattach the P-trap and test the bathroom sink.

Fixing P-Trap Clogs

If the clog isn’t under your drain, it may be inside the P-trap instead. You may be able to disassemble it from your sink and clean it manually to remove the clog. Here are the steps to follow:

• Place a bucket under your P-trap. Disassembling your P-trap may cause dirty water and debris to spill out if the clog is inside the curved pipe sections.
  
• Put on safety gloves and carefully loosen the mounting hardware.
  
• Pull the P-trap off your piping slowly and let the bucket catch any waste and debris.
  
• Bring the P-trap to another functional sink, into the bathroom or a safe area with access to water. Inspect it to locate the clog. 
  
• Clean the P-trap with a dedicated P-trap cleaning brush or a long and flexible tube brush. You may also be able to clean smaller clogs near either end of the pipe with old toothbrushes.
  
• Rinse the P-trap with water, reattach the P-trap, then test the bathroom sink.

Addressing Deeper Bathroom Sink Clogs

Some clogs are located beyond the drain and P-trap, meaning they are deep into the sink’s pipe system. They are more difficult and time-consuming to fix and often require a professional plumber’s specialized tools and expertise of an emergency plumber. Contact an emergency plumber if:

• You can’t locate the clog 
  
• None of the home solutions to fix clogs have worked for you
  
• The clog is causing water to back up from your bathroom sink

Call the Professional Plumbers at Blue Collars Today

Blue Collars is a team of professionals with years of combined experience providing HVAC repairs and plumbing in Charleston, SC. If your bathroom sinks are clogged, you can count on our expertise, professionalism and exceptional customer service. Contact us to book a service today.