My kitchen sink drain clog took a whole weekend to fix

Honestly, everyone says to just use a plunger or some drain cleaner and you're done in an hour. Tbh, I found a solid clog about two feet down the pipe that neither method touched. I ended up taking apart the whole P-trap and using a hand auger, which took me from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon to finally clear. Has anyone else had a simple home fix turn into a multi-day project like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

rodriguez.diana22d agoMost Upvoted

You are spot on about the hand auger. Plungers and drain cleaner are useless once you hit a real grease plug that's set solid. I went through the exact same thing last year and it took me an entire Saturday because I kept packing the sludge tighter before I figured out to pull the auger back every few inches to clear the gunk off. That trick of using hot water and Dawn afterward really does make a difference, it breaks down the leftover film that would just trap new debris. Nothing beats the feeling of finally seeing that water drain freely after two days of wrestling pipes and scrubbing slime out of your hair.

martin.paige1mo ago

My last clog was a solid grease plug three feet down. A hand auger is the only thing that works for those deep ones.

terrybennett1mo ago

Yeah, those deep grease plugs are the worst. @martin.paige is right, a hand auger is the only tool that gets enough torque down there. Tried a power drill once and just stripped the cable. The trick is to go slow and clear the bit often, or you'll just pack it in tighter. A bucket of hot water with some dawn dish soap after you break it up helps flush the rest.