There's undoubtedly something in the pipes underneath your kitchen sink if it continues to clog even after you plunge or snake it. A few household items may pile up in kitchen drain pipes over time, resulting in persistent blockages. To solve this, the first step is to quit making these blockages worse!

Here are the four most common causes of a clogged kitchen sink, along with the problems they cause:

1. Food Scraps

Many people think that you can dump anything into it if you have trash disposal. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. Fruit and vegetable scraps, tiny bones, ice, and cooked meat should nto go down the garbage disposal. Even if you run them through the trash disposal, many foodstuffs may block the pipes.

Never, ever, ever put potatoes, rice, or beans in your garbage disposal. Ever. When they come into contact with water, these foods expand. After being flushed down the toilet, they produce a sticky substance that might adhere to the walls of your pipes. In addition to blockages, bones, uncooked meats, and shells may also harm your disposal as they go down the drain.

2. Fats, Oils, and Grease

These are the three most well-known culprits in terms of kitchen sink clogs. The unfortunate thing about this is that it's the most prevalent. The issue is that each of these compounds is explicitly designed to block drains.

For starters, they're a little gooey. A small percentage of food particles (from fats, oils, and grease) make it down the drain before becoming clogged and blocking it. Adding insult to injury, they harden after they've gotten attached to your pipes.

These three compounds congeal and harden when it cools down. Fats, oils, and grease are very dense and have the potential to obstruct the passage of water. You can clear a blockage by plunging, but the pipe walls will not be blasted clean. Clog formation will occur again if you flush a little of these compounds again. It's easy to keep your kitchen drain free of fat, oil, or grease clogs: just don't do it!

3. Coffee Grounds

As you may well know, coffee grounds are not suitable for kitchen sinks. If you have a trash disposal, don't put grinds down the drain or even let them drain accidentally. Once they're in your pipes, coffee grounds may accumulate over time to create difficult to manage clogs–especially if they grab other particles on their way down. As soon as they become wet, the issue with coffee grounds arises.

When you brew a coffee, think about what occurs when you add water to the grounds. They soak up water, form clumps, and become sticky. Precisely the same thing happens inside of your pipes. Coffee grounds may block your pipes if they stick to the walls of your pipes and harden. Furthermore, they tend to grab other materials that move through your pipes, causing frequent minor blockages that are irritating.

4. Paper Towels

With their thin and often glued construction, paper towels have the potential to clog your kitchen sink. Paper towels are usually about 94% air, so there's not a lot of material in them to clog your pipes. However, paper towels may also present a few other issues.

They're designed to soak up liquid, and they do. Unfortunately, what they don't do is allow water to drain very well. Paper towels may easily plug up the drains in your kitchen, so you shouldn't be flushing them. Throw them in your garbage can instead.

Conclusion

The kitchen sink is always the most annoying place for clogs to show up. You can't just shut off the water and use a plunger or snake to make it go away. You’ll have to get down on your hands and knees and stick your hands into some nasty stuff. 

If you want to dispose of food scraps down your drain, take them outside and put them in your compost pile. You can make your compost pile with them (or mix them with some soil and make a new flower bed). If you insist on attempting to dispose of coffee grounds down your sink, make sure they're completely dry.

The best thing you can do is regularly check your pipes to ensure that clogs have not occurred.

Are you looking to eliminate plumbing problems and clogged drains for good? Look no further than our complete 'Shroom drain protection line! We have award-winning solutions for every drain in your home.

More Articles from The Shroom Company

A List of the Most Common Things that Will Clog Your Pipes

Some Ways You Can Prevent Kitchen Sink Clogs

What Causes a Garbage Disposal Clog and What to Do About It

How to Unclog a Kitchen Sink: 5 Methods for Home Use

 

Disclosure: Links in this article are affiliate links to Amazon products. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.