Clogged drain
easy 15–45 min
Tools: cup plunger, plastic drain snake (zip tool), bucket, rubber gloves · Materials: baking soda and vinegar, hand-crank drain auger for deeper clogs
Steps
- Remove the stopper or strainer and pull out anything you can see with the plastic zip tool.
- Fill the basin a few centimetres, seal the overflow hole with a wet cloth, and plunge with quick, firm strokes for 20 seconds.
- Pour in half a cup of baking soda, then a cup of vinegar, wait 15 minutes, and flush with a kettle of hot (not boiling, for plastic pipes) water.
- If it is still slow, place a bucket under the P-trap, unscrew the slip nuts by hand, empty and rinse the trap, and refit it hand-tight.
- For a clog past the trap, feed a hand-crank auger down the wall pipe until it bites, crank, and pull the debris back.
Stop and call a pro if
- several fixtures drain slowly at once, or a drain gurgles when another is used — that is the main line
- chemical drain cleaner has already been poured in (it makes a pro's work hazardous — tell them)
- the clog returns within a couple of weeks
What a pro does that you can't
A drain specialist clears the line with a powered cable or hydro-jet, inspects it by camera, and finds the cause — grease, scale, roots, or a sagging pipe — so it stops recurring.
DIY cost: $5–30 for a zip tool, plunger or auger