disposal works, but water backs into sink and barely drains

hjlpfe

last year

My disposal works, but water backs up into sink and takes a LONG time to drain. How to fix?

Would a plunger damage disposal plates/gears? What about vinegar and baking soda damage them? Thanks in advance.

Featured Answer

Jake The Wonderdog

last year

last modified: last year

As others have said, a plunger may get you through a minor clog. If it's more than that, it will not work. Soda/ vinegar will not help.

Some tips on the plunger:

1. Add water until there's water standing in the sink

2. If you have a double sink, put the stopper in the GD side

3. Rather than try to "push the clog" with the plunger - put the plunger over the drain (through the water) and slowly expel the air/water in the plunger until it's flat, then pull up quickly. In other words you are going to "pull" on the clog rather than push.

4. If you aren't getting a good seal, moving the plunger up and down quickly (more pulling than pushing) can often dislocate a clog.

If it opens, put stopper in drain, fill the sink on disposer side with warm soapy water. Then pull the stopper and run the disposer. It will help to flush the remains of the clog out of the pipes.

If it doesn't clear, you will need to run the drain. Don't use drain opener chemicals such as Draino or acid - they will only be a hazard for the person who has to run the drain.

A garbage disposal is fine for small amounts of scraps, but don't use it for large amounts (such as potato peelings). Throw the bulk of that in the trash or compost. Grease and fats are very bad for your pipes.

Running ice cubes through your disposal will keep it clean and allow it to grid food better - resulting in fewer clogs.

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Comments (15)

rebasheba
last year
Plunging is fine to try. Baking soda vinegar unlikely to do anything. If you are a bit handy you can try snaking the pipe below the disposal, opening up the p trap. Good luck!
hjlpfe
Original Author
last year
Thank you! I will try a plunger.
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PRO
Minardi
last year
Get a drain auger. All homeowners should own a couple of drain augers. Start with undoing the plumbing at the disposal/pipe join, and see if there's something blocking it there.
hjlpfe
Original Author
last year
thanks. if something were there, might a plunger to the disposal cavity full of water help dislodge it?
PRO
Minardi
last year
Plungers are for minor issues, not blockages. You can try plunging first, but you need to get used to diagnosing the actual problem by taking things apart and seeing about the buildup. If you have grease buildup, that's a giant NO on kitchen behavior. Drains shouldn't really even have disposals on them. It's bad for pipes. Grease is worse though.
rebasheba
last year
Yeah, the advice I got from the very nice plumber who serviced my place a while back was to mostly act like the disposal is not there. You can use it on the incidental scraps that rinse off dishes, but don't actively put things in it. (My building neighbor's coffee grounds were implicated)
hjlpfe thanked rebasheba
dan1888
last year
hjlpfe thanked dan1888
hjlpfe
Original Author
last year
Thank you!
hjlpfe
Original Author
last year
Many thanks for these excellent instructions!
hjlpfe
Original Author
last year
Jake the Wondedog and Dan1888, many thanks for these excellent instructions!
John Liu
last year
I've had best plunger luck this way:

- Get a good, large plunger - something you'd use for a toilet

- Put a few inches of water in the sink - the hotter the better

- No chemicals, you will get splashed

- Stand on something, get tall and be able to press down on the plunger handle with bodyweight rather than just arms

- Plunge rapidly down, up, down, up - you are not trying to force the obstruction through with one mighty shove, you are trying to push and pull it back and forth, sort of vibrating it, to little by little loosen its hold on the pipe where it is stuck

- Plan on doing this for some time - ten minutes is not too short

We have augers, hand-cranked and drill-cranked, but I have been able to clear every obstruction using the plunger.

After you get the clog cleared, flush the drain by filling the sink (again, hot water), then running the disposal (which pushes water down the drain under some pressure). If water comes back into the sink when you stop the disposal, there is still a clog. You want to get it completely cleared.

To me, if you use a disposal, you must be willing to run a lot of water for anything more than an errant leaf of lettuce - a gallon of water down the drain per disposal use is not excessive. That is a lot of wasted water, so we put as much as possible into compost bins.
hjlpfe
Original Author
last year
Thanks for this helpful advice. The video that dan1888 sent earlier in this thread stessed to use "gentle" force with plunger, so as not to risk dislodging sink! Sounds like you've had success with more force. I think I'll start elevated, per your suggestion, but maybe a bit slower at first. Anyway, I appreciate your suggestions. Thanks
John Liu
last year
Dislodging the sink? You mean like tearing the sink off its mounting clips or however it is attached to the countertop? I think it would be hard to apply that much force with a hand plunger - the plunger head is rubber after all. The Incredible Hulk could, I guess.
hjlpfe thanked John Liu
hjlpfe
Original Author
last year
Update: Plunger technique worked quickly and beautifully! Thank you all for all your help!