One of the most common problems in a bathroom is a blocked drain. The sooner you attempt to unblock a drain the easier the problem is to deal with, signs of a blocked sink are the water is draining out more slowly or that water is accumulating in the sink even when there is no plug in, when you first see that then this is the time to act. At this stage an old-fashioned plunger with a wooden rod and a plastic cup attached to it will hopefully do the job. The purpose of this is to add air to the pipe to see if it will get rid of the blockage. In some cases a sink plunger will only remove small items, because the air current is not that great. To increase the air current you can apply petroleum jelly often sold as baseline, this will increase the amount of suction possible and increase the air current. Modern plungers are fitted with a hand pump to increase the air pressure. What to do when a plunger does not work? The next thing to look at is the "U Bend". The U Bend is a U-shaped bend in the piping under the sink, its purpose is to block odours from coming up the sink, but in practice it often traps other unwanted things that are being pushed down a sink. The U shaped part of this type can be removed because there are two threads one almost directly under the sink in the downpipe and another further along. Before attempting to remove the U Bend you should have on hand a plunger, a bucket, a screwdriver and a few towels or other absorbent material in case you have to do a mop up job! Place the bucket under the sink directly underneath the downward pipe, unscrew the thread of the U Bend directly under the sink and gently pull it free (have the towels handy) it isn't always water that makes the mess there may be a lot of accumulated debris falling down. Unscrew the second set of threads and remove the U joint completely. If there is a blockage in the whole U Bend use some flexible wire to free it. If you have not got any to hand unravel a metal coat hanger and put it down and around the U. When you replace the Clear U Bend be careful not to screw the threads too tightly when replacing the joint because they may crack. When you have finished this procedure the sink should hopefully be clear if not then use the plunger again. Should you want to try a nonchemical solution before dismantling the sink, pour a half cup baking soda down the drain and afterwards pour down 2 cups of vinegar. This will create a fizzy reaction leave it for five minutes and then pour boiling water down the drain. On the flip side if you don't want to make your own sink blocker then there are numerous alternatives in your local supermarket. Having a blocked sink does not mean that you have to pay expensive plumbing bills as nine times out of ten following the above advice will have your sink un blocked in no time.
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