Potential Cause: Jammed Garbage Disposal
If your home has a garbage disposal, a problem with the drain plug could be sending water back up your sink. The drain plug covers the hole where the garbage disposal connects to the dishwasher, and should be removed when the garbage disposal is installed. If it isnt removed, it can cause a water backup. This is an easy fix. All you need to do is remove the drain plug to stop the backup. To prevent this problem in the future, have your garbage disposal professionally installed.
Remove The Blockage By Plunging
If you see black water backing up in the kitchen sink, its time to use this method. Once you know the disposal is not the problem, you need to use a plunger. Remember, we recommended using a flat-bottomed plunger for this method.
Tools Required:
The clog removal using the plunger does not need many materials. There are a few materials that you need to perform this method:
Follow these steps while holding a plunger in your hand:
Step 1: Prepare the area
Protect the kitchen floor by surrounding the sink with old newspapers and towels to catch spills or leaks. Do not use your finest towels yet.
A bucket should be ready to go if necessary to remove a blockage by pulling it up rather than pushing it down. Protect yourself by using rubber gloves and a change of clothes.
Step 2: Try to prevent overflows
You must turn the shutting valve to prevent the objects from overflowing. Youll find it under the kitchen sink on a pipe coming out of the wall.
Make sure you dont break it if its not moving and youre using too much force when turning it clockwise. You can loosen the valve by spraying it with penetrating oil.
It may not work, or your sink may be ancient and lack a shutoff valve, in which case your options are to deal with the float or flapper in your sink.
Use a mug or pot to remove the water present in the sink. Make sure there is nothing else in the sink that will make it difficult for you to perform this method.
Step 3: Double-check your plunger
Step 4: Plunge
Dealing With An Overflowing Kitchen Sink In Chicago Il We Can Help
We know you can handle most kitchen sink clogs and floods, but were here with expert backup. Our emergency water leak repair services in Chicago and suburbs cover all types of small plumbing problems from kitchen sinks to water heaters.
You can count on us for flood damage and plumbing leak cleanup too. If a flooded sink tries to take over your kitchen, were standing by and ready to roll.
Just give us a call here at ServiceMaster Restoration by Zaba: 647-1985
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What If My Sink Only Drains When The Garbage Disposal Is On
Unfortunately, if you can still get your sink to drain, but you just need a little encouragement from your garbage disposal, youre on your way to having your garbage disposal water come back up.
The reasons your sink only drains when the garbage disposal is on are essentially the same reasons that water would come back up: your sink was not installed correctly , your garbage disposal needs to be cleaned or there is a blockage in your system. If your sink was not installed correctly, as you probably have guessed, youll likely need a professionals help to get things working correctly again. If your disposal needs to be cleaned, use either the baking soda and vinegar method or the ice and salt method we already mentioned to get rid of any grime that may have built up in your disposal. If there is a blockage in your system, youre going to have to spend more time troubleshooting your plumbing to get your water draining properly.
If you want to quickly figure out what exactly is going on, you can call in a professional plumber to quickly assess the situation for you and advise you on the best next steps.
If you were able to get your drain cleared yourself, using any of the methods we have already discussed, you probably want to keep from being in this grimy situation in the future.
How To Fix An Overflowing Kitchen Sink In 5 Fast Steps
Diana Rodriguez-ZabaJuly 14, 2022
You step away for just a minute. Suddenly, you hear gurgling noises. When you look back into the room, you know youre in trouble. The kitchen sink is filling up with water.
What do you do first?
If youre lucky, you catch the sink overflowing before it floods the entire kitchen. Still, you need to stop the water, drain the sink and get things cleaned up.
Our team regularly restores homes in the Chicago area damaged by overflowing sinks. Were here to help with this guide.
Lets get started!
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Need Help Were Here For You
When youve exhausted these DIY options and the clog still wont budge, Donnellys Plumbing Heating and Cooling is ready to help! Were happy to send out our service professionals, day or night, to make sure your drains are clean, clear, and safe for your household. Give us a call at or schedule service online at any time!
Here Is What The Process Will Look Like:
We also recommend taking this action once a month to clean out your drains as a precautionary measure to prevent any future clogs.
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Make Prevention A Priority
Sink drain clogs are a normal occurrence, but there are some ways you can prevent them. If you have a kitchen garbage disposal, dont overload it. Feed items in a little at a time, and wait until they grind and run through completely before adding more. Make sure you use garbage disposal cleaning tipsto keep the appliance working properly.
Dont ever put bacon grease, coffee grounds, or oils down your kitchen drain or inyour garbage disposal. Also, always make sure you run plenty of water down the drain after each use.
Its important to know how to maintain and care for all of your home’s plumbing componentsand systems to keep things running smoothly.
Possible Cause: Blockage Farther Down The Line
Finally, if these steps dont locate the cause, then you may have a blockage somewhere farther down the line. If you cant reach the blockage with a snake, then you will need to have a professional come and take a look. The blockage could be something simple, like something you sent down the disposal that didnt get chopped up quite enough, or it can be complicated, like a tree root that has entered the line. Regardless, if you cant loosen the clog on your own with a snake or drain cleaning chemicals, you will need to call a pro.
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How To Fix It
There are many ways you can go about attempting to unclog your drain, the method you choose is entirely up to you, but if youre struggling to fix it, you may want to run through all these options before calling a plumber.
Try Plunging Your Drain
While you may think a plunger is only suitable for a clogged toilet, theyre excellent tools for unclogging drains as well.
For sanitary reasons, its recommended that you buy a separate plunger from the one you keep in your bathroom. Plungers like this Luigis Sink and Drain Plunger are specially designed for sink drains and are small enough to be stored underneath your kitchen sink when youre not using it.
For the plunging to work, youll need to make sure there are at least several inches of standing water in your sink and then plunge for about 30 seconds.
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Doing this a few times is recommended to help loosen the blockage and clear up your drain even if water begins flowing after the first plunge better safe than sorry.
Pour Boiling Water Down Your Drain
If you have all-metal piping, you should consider running boiling water down your drain.
Water at this high of heat has a better chance of breaking through minor clogs and melting any fat or grease that may be clogging the passageways.
Pour a Mixture of Baking Soda and White Vinegar Down Your Drain
Run an Auger Down Your Kitchen Drain
Use a Sink Strainer
When To Call A Pro
If none of our proposed solutions work, then it might be time to call a professional in to help resolve the issues. Most of the time, you can fix a simple drain blockage on your own. But if the problem is due to broken components, like a cracked drain pipe or a broken valve piece, then your best bet might be to call a professional plumber. You may also need to call a professional if the leaking has caused any extra damage to your kitchen.
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Your Main Drain Line Is Clogged
Sink drains are the highest drains in your homes plumbing system. If there are problems with your entire plumbing network, the symptoms will likely surface in other parts of the home before it affects your kitchen sink. For this reason, water backing up usually means the problem is directly related to the kitchen sink itself, rather than the main drain line.
With that said, the main drain line is still a possible culprit. All sinks drain into the master drain line, which connects to the municipal sewer line or your homes septic system. The food, grease, dirt, and hair that accumulates in your sink pipes will eventually find their way to this main line. If the gunk builds up into the drain line, coating the inside of the pipe, the water flow can become restricted and backs up into your sink.
Water Coming Back Up Kitchen Sink
As a kitchen sink is used for washing, cleaning, and food preparation, many people consider it an essential element of their homes. Inconveniently, the kitchen sink gets clogged up from time to time, making it difficult to get things done, water come back up kitchen sink. A clog is the most common cause of a backed-up kitchen sink, but there are many more possibilities.
Contents
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Other Causes Of Sink Clogs
Other causes of water coming up in the kitchen sink could be signs of blockages in other parts of the plumbing system. For example, it could be water coming from the washing machine, dishwasher or toilet. If you have a complicated plumbing system, with a number of fixtures using the same pipe as is often the case in the kitchen, it might be that the blockage is coming from a different pipe, but backing up into your sink.
Why Does My Sink Back Up When I Run The Dishwasher
Here are the most common reasons for your dishwasher backing up your sink and how to fix them.
Blocked/obstructed dishwasher
The most common cause of your dishwasher backing up into your sink is because your dishwasher is not draining properly. If the drain or filter of your dishwasher is clogged, then it can cause water to back up into the pipes and into your sink.
Check the drain to make sure that it is not obstructed and also check the drainpipe to make sure that it is secured correctly and that there is nothing clogged in it. If there is a clog, you can remove it manually with a drain snake or with chemicals. Vinegar and baking soda can be poured down the drain and left overnight to loosen any clogs.
Jammed/slow garbage disposal
The problem could also be due to your garbage disposal. If the drain plug in the garbage disposal is clogged, then water may not run properly from your dishwasher. This can occur if you have an old garbage disposal that has not been cleaned in a long time or you have a new one that has not been installed correctly.
In either case, clearing the blockage from the drain plug in the garbage disposal should fix the problem. If the problem persists, then your garbage disposal might be broken and needs to be replaced. You will know the problem is fixed if running your garbage disposal causes the sink level to lower.
Clogged kitchen sink
Blocked kitchen sink air gap
Blocked drain plug
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Kitchen Sink Clogged Drain
A lot of food and food byproducts such as fiber and grease finds its way down kitchen sinks. Over time, drains can clog, sometimes frequently. When there is a clog in the line, water pressure in the pipes can increase and force sink water up into the dishwasher drain line.
One way to relieve the pressure is to disconnect the sink trap underneath the sink and remove the blockage. If it is not clogged there, run a snake into the waste pipe leading into the wall behind the sink. Youll need a bucket to catch the water and the clogged material that may come pouring out.
Another, easier way is to plunge the sink drain to break up the clogged material and force it along the waste line where it can move freely away. A word of caution, however. Using a plunger greatly increases the pressure in the line, which can defeat the air gap, even if there has been no backflow into your dishwasher. To be safe, the dishwasher drain hose should be clamped shut where it meets the sinks drain pipes.
Why Does Water Come Up In The Kitchen Sink
Get your groans of ew out now, because this is going to get gross. Its a common problem in both new and old homes, in apartments and houses, in dorm rooms and mansions water coming back up in the kitchen sink can happen to anyone. Its disgusting when it does happen, and if it goes down while youre not home, it could overflow and cause water damage. No one wants to wake up in the morning to dirty sink water spilling onto the floor or stinking up the house, but unfortunately its probably the most common reason a plumber is called. But why does it happen? Were here today to explain why water comes back up in your kitchen sink.
Your kitchen sink is actually much more complicated than just the pipes that you see when you open the cabinet door. The kitchen sink is usually connected to one of the main pipelines in the home, since its relatively centered to the rest of the home. Your dishwasher, washer and dryer, toilet, and shower are all most likely connected through a series of pipes that all have their own branches and funnel into the same main line that drops all waste to the sewer. Your home will essentially tell you when something is wrong with any of these pipes, and water coming up in your kitchen sink is one of them.
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Use A Baking Soda And Vinegar Mixture
If you don’t have a clean plunger on hand, you can use the tried-and-true cleaning technique of combining baking soda and vinegar. This creates a bubbling reaction that breaks up larger pieces of muck so that they’ll go down the drain easily.
First, start off by boiling water in a kettle and then pour it down the drain .
It needs to be boiling and not just hot tap water so that it can dissolve and loosen up food particles and smaller blockages. This will help flush out the drain, but it won’t completely clear out the clog. However, if you’ve got PVC pipes, it’s best to skip this step because it could loosen the pipe seals. You can still flush with hot tap water after you’ve done the vinegar and baking soda treatment.
Next, pour about a cup of baking soda down the drain and let it sit for a few minutes. You may need to use a wooden spoon, rubber spatula or plastic utensil to help push the baking soda down the drain. I’d avoid using metal or anything sharp so as not to scrape up your sink.
After the baking soda has sat for a bit, pour in a cup of white distilled vinegar. The combination will create a fizzy reaction to loosen the clog. Use a stopper and plug the sink for about 15 minutes. During this time, boil another pot of water. After the time is up, pour the boiling water down the sink to flush it once more.
Repeat this regularly to prevent buildup in the future.
Keep your sink drain clear.
Rare But Serious: Basement Drains
We may not receive these calls as often, but they are sometimes the most damaging issues. After a lot of rain, a serious thunderstorm, or clogs that back up far into the drain itself, you may find water or even sewage coming back up your basement drain. Laundry rooms or mudrooms can also fall prey to similar issues.
Are you the DIY type? If so, we have one trick that may work for you:
- Rent an electric auger. For serious floor drain clogs that youre looking to take care of on your own, this will be the most effective option. Youll need to remove the drain cover and clean-out plug first, so you can bypass the trap and go directly into the pipe. Some drains dont have a clean-out plug and so youll have to snake directly through the trap, which will be a little more difficult. Plug in the auger, position it in the drain, and begin working it into the pipe. Set the motor for a clockwise rotation and slowly work your way through in a back-and-forth motion until youve cleared the clog.
- For basement or floor drains in general, we dont usually recommend a DIY approach. Clogs can be very serious, and when you have water backing up into your basement its best to get a certified professional on-site as fast as possible.
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