Stoppages at your bathroom sink or slow drainage is common issue for home owners. Here are some cool DIY tips on how you prevent stoppages at your bathroom sink.

Easy ways to prevent stoppages in your bathroom sink.  

       1. Use a catch screen over your drain

      2. Run enough water 

      3. Clean pop up regularly

Use a screen over your sink drain 

There are a lot of affordable and attractive solutions to drain screens for your bathroom sinks.  There are even options for built-in screens for your pop-ups, so the screen is completely hidden.  My bathroom sinks have screens built into my pop-ups. While I sometimes find it annoying to have a screen because they WORK, and I have to clean them I’m grateful for them. With the screens I’ve never had a stoppage in my bathroom sink.  You can get screens that have a varying mesh size that can drastically reduce potential stoppages.  I swear mine won’t let anything through but filtered water!   

Run enough water 

Our bathroom sinks get a lot of abuse.  We may not realize it, but our bathroom sinks often get as much abuse as our kitchen sinks.  Shaving cream, toothpaste, lotions, potions, and hair are a regular event for most bathroom sinks.  These items can quickly become a stoppage. When there is not enough water to properly wash these materials through your pop up, p-trap and bathroom drain line, it can cause a stoppage.  I know it seems crazy in a world where we’re always preaching to conserve water, but you do need enough water to do the job right.  Without the right amount of water you will end up paying the price by having a plumber clear you.  Being mindful of water by not leaving it on while you’re performing your grooming responsibilities is a great way to save the planet but running adequate amounts of water while you’re rinsing away the evidence is a must.  

Clean your pop up  

Your pop up is the portion of your drain that you see from the top of your sink that pushes/pulls up and down to hold water in your sink.  The piece that moves up and down is removable. But be warned, when you pull the pop up out it’s naaaasty.  It will be full of gunk and hair and will certainly not be the most pleasurable thing you will do in your life.  You will want to make sure you have a plastic bag with you and rubber gloves. Trust me on this, it’s slimy, gross gunk and hair. You don’t want to touch it or have it hanging out in your bathroom trash.  

Pro Tip 

Don’t use a plunger or chemical drain cleaners to clear your bathroom sink if you have a stoppage.  Plungers can put undue stress and pressure on the connections for your drain and cause leaks on your drain system.  Chemical drain cleaners can also cause damage to your plumbing system and put chemicals into our water system that must be filtered out. 
The best way to clear your bathroom sink of a stoppage is to either clear the pop-up, as described, take apart the p-trap or to use a drain cleaning wand that is flexible plastic to retrieve hair from within your bathroom sink line. 

Services in Phoenix & Beyond

When you’ve found yourself in need of plumbing services in the Phoenix, Glendale, Scottsdale, or Chandler area, you can trust Robins Plumbing to provide you with prompt and expert care, contact our team today! In addition to our toilet services, we also offer a variety of residential and commercial plumbing services, including: drain cleaning, water heater repair and replacement, sewer camera inspection and locating, backflow prevention, commercial and residential jetting, water treatments, and more. Visit our reviews online to see what others have to say about our local plumbing company!