A slow kitchen sink drain is one of those issues that starts out innocuous enough.
It is not immediately a problem.
It is simply a nuisance.
It is a rinse of a plate that takes a little longer to clear the drain.
It is a wash of a pan that results in a deeper puddle than usual before the water goes away.
It is the occasional activation of the garbage disposal that seems to clear things up for a while.
It is all perfectly acceptable the next day.
Most homeowners are not concerned about a slow kitchen sink.
What is there to be concerned about?
The sink still drains.
The kitchen is still functional.
There is no water on the floor.
No pipes have ruptured.
No one is wringing out dishtowels in a panic.
It can be easily shrugged off, and perhaps it is.
It is just food in the drain.
The disposal just needs to run more often.
It will clear itself.
Sometimes it does.
Most of the time, it does not.
A slow kitchen sink drain is often the result of something that has already begun to clog the drain.
It could be grease.
It could be food.
It could be soap residue.
It could be something obstructing the garbage disposal.
It could be something further down the drain.
Nampa is a busy place for kitchens.
Coffee is made.
Dinner is prepared.
Plates are rinsed.
Pans are greasy.
Holiday meals are created.
Quick meals are assembled.
Snacks are devoured.
A little bit of everything goes down the kitchen sink drain over the course of a week.
That is when the problem begins.
If your kitchen sink is draining slowly, backing up, smelling badly, or gurgling when in use, Prime Plumbing can help with Kitchen Plumbing, Clogged Drain Cleaning, Garbage Disposal Repair, Plumbing Inspection, and more throughout Nampa and the Treasure Valley.
The sink will often give subtle warnings
The kitchen sink does not always become completely clogged.
It often begins to act strangely first.
The water simply does not flow as quickly as it used to.
The sink begins to gurgle.
The garbage disposal side backs up more than the others.
The disposal side bubbles when the other side is in use.
The drain smells badly after washing dishes.
The water flows slowly and then quickly when it should be a steady stream.
The issues are not obvious because the sink is still doing its job.
That is what makes slow drains such a nuisance.
They do not halt activity in the kitchen, they only make it slower.
People get used to the slow trickle of water and accept it as normal.
They begin to wash dishes in smaller batches.
They run the disposal more often.
They reassure themselves that the sink is fine.
They only realize that something is wrong when the water simply will not flow as it should.
Grease is a major culprit for slow kitchen drains
Grease is a sneaky culprit because it is often not thought of as much of a problem.
It is runny and flows right down the drain with little issue.
It is often hot when it goes down the drain and is gone before it can be thought of as a problem.
The issue with grease is that it is not gone for long.
It cools in the pipes and begins to adhere to the sides of the drain.
It collects bits of food, bits of soap, and other things that find their way down the drain.
It builds up until there is less space for water to flow through.
It may have only been a little bit of grease from breakfast, a little bit from dinner, and a little bit from rinsed plates.
It may have been on a pan that seemed mostly clean.
It may have not seemed like much at the time, but the drain did not think so.
It builds up until the space through which the water flows is constricted enough that it cannot flow as freely as it once did.
It may seem as though the problem began suddenly, but it likely began slowly months ago.
The garbage disposal is not a magical kitchen appliance
The garbage disposal is an excellent tool, but it is important not to think of it as a magical appliance that can dispose of anything.
It merely shreds food into smaller bits.
Those smaller bits still have to go somewhere.
Some foods are especially difficult on kitchen drains and can contribute to slow drains or clogs.
Those foods include rice, pasta, potato peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, fibrous vegetables, and greasy leftovers.
It is not that a single piece of food is particularly damaging, it is that these things can cause issues when they combine with other things and when they are added to the drain repeatedly.
A little bit of food here, a little bit there, and suddenly there is a slow drain.
If the disposal is run and the drain clears only to begin slowing again soon after, the problem may be deeper than simply food in the drain.
Prime Plumbing can help with Garbage Disposal Repair and Clogged Drain Cleaning when the garbage disposal is run, but the kitchen drain still does not flow as it should.
The clog may not be far from the sink
The kitchen sink drain may not have a clog deeper in the pipes.
It may simply have something obstructing it near the sink.
It may have food in the trap beneath the sink.
It may have grease near the garbage disposal.
It may have a small object that has found its way down the drain.
It may have the disposal connection obstructed.
It may simply have the drain itself obstructed.
The symptoms of this type of clog are often easy to recognize because it is often the only sink with an issue.
The other sinks and fixtures in the home are flowing as they should.
The washing machine is not backing up into the bathroom.
The toilets are not gurgling ominously.
The sewer smell is not wafting out of the drains unexpectedly.
That is not to say that a small kitchen clog should be ignored.
A slow drain can easily turn into a standing pool of water if ignored.
The clog may be further down the kitchen drain
The kitchen drain may also be slowing because of a clog further down the drain.
This can be more difficult to tell, as the symptoms are sometimes a bit more subtle.
The sink may still be flowing, just slowly.
The disposal may be running, but it is not clearing the water as it should.
The dishwasher may be pushing water back up the drain.
The sink may gurgle when it is used.
The clog may simply be further down the kitchen drain than near the sink.
When this happens, simple surface cleaning of the drain is not enough.
This can also be an issue for homeowners, as it can be easy to think that the clog is only on the surface when it is not.
Prime Plumbing can inspect the kitchen plumbing and determine where the restriction is.
The smell often accompanies a slow kitchen drain
A slow kitchen drain is often accompanied by an unpleasant smell.
This is not always the case, but it is common enough that it is worth mentioning.
It may simply be a sour smell, or it may smell like old food.
It may smell musty.
It may be particularly bad after the dishwasher has been used.
It can be the result of food, grease, dirty water, or other things that have built up in the drain or disposal.
A kitchen drain should not smell particularly bad every time it is used.
If it is doing so, it should be taken more seriously.
Air fresheners will not help the situation, and while cleaning the sink may help temporarily, it is likely that the smell will return if the source is not addressed.
The source of the smell should be cleared from the drain.
Drain cleaner should be used with caution
It is easy to understand the appeal of drain cleaner.
The sink is slowing down.
The bottle of cleaner is right there at the store.
It seems like the perfect solution to the problem.
Kitchen sink clogs are not always simple affairs, however.
They can be caused by a number of different things, including grease, food, the garbage disposal, traps, and other things further down the drain.
Drain cleaner may not always be the best solution, as it may only clear a small part of the clog or only clear it temporarily.
It may simply run into standing water if there is already a backup.
It may also make a clog more difficult to address if the cleaner itself adheres to the sides of the drain.
If the sink is already backing up, it is not a good idea to try to clean it with additional cleaner.
A slow kitchen sink that keeps recurring should be addressed rather than attempted to be cleared on a regular basis.
The dishwasher may make the issue more obvious
The dishwasher may be the first thing that makes a slow kitchen drain obvious.
It may cause water to back up into the sink or gurgle ominously when in use.
It may have dirty water on the garbage disposal side when it is done.
This does not necessarily mean that the dishwasher is the problem, however.
It is common for dishwashers to share a drain with the kitchen sink and garbage disposal.
If the kitchen drain is partially clogged, it may cause the dishwasher to have issues with draining.
That can cause water to come back up the drain and into the sink where it can easily be seen.
A slow kitchen drain and a dishwasher backup are often linked.
The drain is simply not able to remove the water quickly enough.
When a slow kitchen sink becomes an emergency
A slow kitchen sink is often something that can be scheduled for repair.
There are some instances, however, when it becomes an emergency.
Water is not flowing at all.
Dirty water is backing up.
The sink is overflowing.
Water is leaking out of the cabinets.
The garbage disposal is leaking.
There is a noticeable sewage smell.
The dishwasher is backing up into the sink.
Water is spreading into the floorboards and cabinets.
If water is actively leaking or overflowing, it should be stopped as soon as possible.
It is best to avoid running water to see if it will clear the clog, as that will only encourage more water to build up.
Prime Plumbing offers Emergency Plumbing Service for emergency plumbing issues in Nampa and the Treasure Valley.
A few changes to kitchen habits can help avoid future issues
After the kitchen drain has been cleared, it is a good idea to make a few changes to avoid future slow drains.
Scrape plates into the trash before washing them.
Avoid putting grease down the sink.
Wipe pans that have been cooked in grease before washing them.
Use the garbage disposal wisely.
Run plenty of water when using the disposal.
Avoid putting coffee grounds, rice, pasta, and other fibrous or thick foods down the kitchen drain.
Be mindful of the sink after the disposal has been used.
Kitchen drains do not often clog due to a single mistake.
They clog due to small things done regularly.
The good news is that small things can also be used to prevent clogs.
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Final note
A slow kitchen sink drain is often easy to ignore.
The water still flows.
The kitchen is still functional.
The sink is not overflowing.
The issue usually begins to affect daily life when the water simply does not flow as quickly as it should.
It could be due to grease.
It could be due to food.
It could be due to the garbage disposal.
It could be due to the dishwasher.
It could be due to something further down the kitchen drain.
If your kitchen sink is draining slowly in your Nampa home, Prime Plumbing can inspect the kitchen plumbing, clear the drain, inspect the disposal, and determine what the issue is.
Contact Prime Plumbing and let them know what your kitchen sink is doing.
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