Many people may take cleaning as a fun activity, but when you talk about cleaning drain pipes, not many are interested. You rush to a plumber almost immediately when you figure out that you have a blockage in your copper bathroom sinks or copper vessel sinks. Before you panic, take a deep breath and for a moment consider yourself as a plumber. The task might not be that difficult after all. There are a lot of ways for you to do these tasks on your own and save the money that a plumber would demand. So, grab a plunger and an apron and head towards the target!
At first, you need to look for some gloves because it is going to turn messy! Move furniture, towels or anything that is lying around the sink. Now, take the plunger and plunge using an upward motion to clear the drain. Before you do this, you must block the overflow drain hole or any other additional drain (in case of double kitchen washbasins). You can do this by either creating suction or using any wet rags.
If the plunger does not work, you need to remove the clean out plug to put in the drain snake. Under the washbasin, the lowest part of the drain will have the clean out plug. Using a wrench, you can unscrew the plug and then use your hand to remove it. This will let the water flow from the drain, so make sure you keep a bucket or any other container underneath. If the basin does not have a clean out plug, you do not need to worry! You can remove the entire curved trap by unscrewing the couplings on both of its sides.
Your next step is to include the drain snake in the mission! Push the plumber's snake into both ends of the drain. Keep pushing it further until you feel a blockage. If you are feeling that the pressure continues to build up slowly, let it move into the material that is blocking the pipes. Keep going until you find the blockage. The blockage may be paper, hair, or any other material that could not move down the drain. Remove that and put the drain snake again into the pipe. You will not get the entire blockage in one shot. Once you feel that there is nothing more coming out of the drain, pull the drain snake out and clean it.
Now tighten back the clean out plug and check the drain by allowing some water to pass, as you leave the tap running for a while. If the water runs with a constant flow, you are successful! Good job!
Now that you have cleared your drain from any blockage, you need to maintain it too. After all, no one would like to open and close the blocked drain again and again. To do this, you should keep a hair catcher or a sink guard on the mouth of the drain. This will not allow any clogging material to run into the drain. Keep it clean and save the plumber maintenance costs!
