Blocked sink in Macclesfield
In short
A kitchen sink blocks with cooled fat and food debris in the trap or the first metre of waste pipe; a bathroom basin blocks with hair and soap. Both are cleared mechanically — the trap comes apart, the pipe is cleaned out — and both are usually a short visit rather than a big job.
Also called: kitchen sink blocked · sink not draining · slow draining sink · unblock a sink
Signs you need this
- Water draining slowly or standing in the bowl
- Gurgling from the plughole
- A smell from the sink or the cupboard below
- Water backing up when the dishwasher or washing machine empties
- More than one fitting slow at the same time
Start with where the water is going. If one sink is slow and everything else drains normally, the blockage is local — in the trap or the branch pipe. If several fittings are slow, or if water comes up in one when another drains, the problem is further down in the stack or the underground drain, and that is a different job.
Fat is the main culprit in kitchens, and it is worth understanding why. Warm fat and oil pour easily, then cool a metre down the pipe and solidify against the walls, gradually catching everything that follows. It builds slowly, which is why kitchen sinks get gradually slower over months rather than blocking suddenly. Once it has narrowed a pipe, hot water alone will not shift it — mechanical removal is what works.
In bathrooms it is hair bound with soap scum, usually caught in the trap or on the plug mechanism. Pop-up wastes are particularly good at collecting it, and lifting the mechanism out is often the entire fix.
Chemical drain cleaners are worth a word of caution. They are caustic, they frequently fail to reach a blockage sitting under standing water, they can damage older pipework and some seals, and they make the job genuinely hazardous for whoever opens the pipe afterwards. If you have used one and it has not worked, say so before a plumber puts their hands in the water.
Prevention is simple and effective: fat into a container and into the bin rather than down the sink, a strainer in the plughole, and a kettle of hot water with a little washing-up liquid down the kitchen sink once a week to keep the walls of the pipe clear.
What the job covers
- Dismantling and cleaning traps and waste connections
- Mechanical clearing of the branch waste pipe
- Clearing pop-up waste mechanisms
- Checking whether the blockage is local or further down the system
- Rodding or jetting where the branch is not the problem
- Advice on preventing recurrence
What it costs
We don't publish a price for this yet, because a number pulled out of the air is worse than no number at all — your plumber has to honour it. You'll get a firm price for your actual job when they ring you back, before any work starts. The quote itself is free and there's no obligation either way.
Common questions
Why does my sink fill when the dishwasher drains?
Usually because the shared trap or branch is partly blocked, or because too much is discharging into one small trap. Clearing the branch fixes the first; splitting or upsizing the waste arrangement fixes the second.
Should I use caustic drain cleaner first?
Better not. It often cannot reach a blockage under standing water, it can damage older pipes and seals, and it makes the pipe hazardous to open afterwards. Mechanical clearing is quicker and safer.
Need this doing in Macclesfield?
Tell us the job and it goes straight to our local plumber — one call back, usually the same day. Free quote, no obligation.