Top 6 Things that Cause Sink Clogging in the Kitchen

Let’s admit it. We all hate sink clogging, especially when we only have a few minutes for chores and a lot of work-from-home tasks waiting to be accomplished.

Most of the time though, sink clogging happens when you least expect it. If that’s the case, then we should focus on preventing this plumbing problem from happening instead of waiting for it to ruin our day.

For our part, we’ll share with you the top 6 causes of sink clogging that our plumbers Singapore observed after many years of helping homeowners unclog their kitchen sinks. 

Read on to know what you should avoid flushing into the sink.

Grease

Whenever you cook with ingredients like fat and oil, expect grease to linger on your cooking pan. Although you cannot avoid flushing grease down the drain 100% of the time, you can at least reduce the amount of grease that goes in there.

How to do that? Here’s our tip: If the grease is not too thick, you can wipe them away using paper towels before washing the pan. 

If the grease is slightly or really thick, then wear your gloves and get a brown bag. Insert your hand inside the brown bag. Wipe the grease off of the pan, and enclose the accumulated grease inside the brown bag. This way, you can dispose of the grease in the trash bin without causing sink clogging in your kitchen.

Oil

In our many years as plumbers, we have always encountered nasty lard blocking the sink pipes. This happens more often when the temperature starts to drop during the colder months of the year. Just like our tip above, dispose of the oil separately instead of draining that cooking ingredient down the sink.

Hair

A pile of hair coming out of the sink drain when we pump it is not an uncommon scenario. For whatever reason, hair just keeps piling up down the drain, causing blockage over time. Do yourself a favor and avoid flushing hair down your kitchen sink. Tie your hair when you’re doing the dishes or use the baking soda-vinegar method the moment you notice that your sink is working slowly.

Dust

Some of us have the habit of cleaning dusty objects, even the filter of our portable vacuum in the kitchen sink. Little did we know, the dust that we drain on the sink accumulates  to form a gunk of dirt down our pipes. If you can’t avoid cleaning dusty objects in your sink, at least follow this effective weekly plan for less sink clogging.

Ground coffee

Most of us love the aroma of a fresh brew on a busy day. With the work-from-home setting, we don’t need to order a latte from the coffee shop near the office to get the boost that we need. We can brew our own coffee at home at a fraction of a cost, not to mention without a consumption limit!

However, you have to be careful in cleaning your coffee maker filters. Put the ground coffee into the trash instead of draining them down the sink. These tiny bits can clog your sink, especially when you dump them down the drain on a regular basis.

Pastry crumbs

Finally, we may not notice it but the crumbs from the luscious chunky brownie that you just ate can potentially clog your sink.

Crumbs from brownies, cupcakes, bread loaves, and other pastries that we eat are also culprits of our sink-clogging nightmares. If you have the habit of putting pastries on your plate and leaving the crumbs there before placing the plate in the sink, then you are contributing to the future plumbing problem in your kitchen.

Watch out for these crumbs and avoid draining them in the sink all the time.

If you’re guilty of dumping these six items into your kitchen sink, it’s about time you start to remove this bad habit. Put them in the trash instead of disposing of them where they don’t belong.