How to Clear a Blocked Drain

Is your sink or shower drain blocked?  Is water draining slowly or not at all?  If so, you need to be able to get it unplugged before flooding occurs. You can do this easily yourself without calling a plumber. 

One of the first things you can try if water is draining slowly is to turn on hot water for a few minutes to try to clear it.  Filling the sink with water while the plug is in place and suddenly removing it can also be quite effective, as the sudden pressure is often enough to force lodged materials through your pipes.

If this does not work, a plunger is a great tool.  It forms a seal around the drain, pushing whatever is in the way down through your pipes.  If that does not work, many home improvement stores sell drain snakes that you can use.  A drain snake is a flexible metal tube that threads through your pipe while you crank a handle, forcing anything lodged in your pipes to travel through until the clog is gone.

Of course, drain cleaner can also be effective and requires little effort.  Simply pouring a chemical drain cleaner into your pipes may be all you need to unclog your sink quickly.

Any of these methods should likely be enough to unclog your sink or shower drain so that you can get the water flowing freely once more.  With your drain fixed, take care to ensure that nothing but water travels through it in the future by installing a drain lint trap to catch hair and other unwanted particles.