Clogged bathroom sinks are common household issues. Often, they result from the accumulation of hair, soap scum, and other debris in the drain. Luckily, this is usually an easy problem to fix yourself. Here's how you unclog your sink in just a few minutes.

Step 1 - Visual Inspection

First, run water in the sink to observe how quickly it drains. You can observe whether the water will stay in place or drain slowly, which can give you a sense of how severe the clog is. It is also a good idea to use a flashlight to inspect the drain for visible debris. If you're lucky, you might spot an easy-to-remove blockage right at the drain's entrance.

Step 2 - Manual Removal

Before proceeding with more involved methods, start by manually removing debris from the drain. Wear gloves to protect your hands and reach into the drain to clear out any visible obstructions, such as clumps of hair and soap scum. You likely won't be able to clear the clog by hand, but you can remove obstacles to make the next steps a little easier.

Step 3 - Plunge the Drain

Mind your use of force during this step. It's easy to damage the sink or the structure around it by pushing the plunger too hard. You want to push only until the plunger's cup bottoms out. Pushing further after that will only apply pressure to the sink without moving more water down the drain.

Step 4 - Apply a Drain Cleaner

Buy a cleaner and then carefully read and follow the instructions on the bottle before applying it. Usually, the process involves pouring the cleaner down the drain, waiting for a specified period, and then flushing with hot water.

Be cautious when handling chemicals and ensure the room is well-ventilated. Using gloves for this step is a good idea.

Step 5 - Contact a Professional

If the clog remains after using a drain cleaner, that's a good time to contact a team of Denver plumbers and let the professionals take it from there. In cases like this, the clog is either too deep for the drain cleaner to reach or it is caused by something that can't easily be dissolved. Plastic toys, tree roots, hair, and hard water minerals are all difficult for drain cleaners to deal with.

That said, if you want to try one last option — and you don't mind buying a tool you may only ever use once — then using a plumbing snake could fix the problem.

A plumbing snake is a long and flexible tool made to reach deep into pipes and remove clogs that are not accessible by other means. You can push a plumbing snake into your drain, keep going until you find resistance, and then turn the tool to break the clog. At this point, you can carefully pull the clog out. Of course, that is assuming the obstacle can be broken.

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