Unblocking the sink

Here's a useful recipe: a way to unblock the sink without buying expensive products, using stuff you've probably already got in your kitchen.

The sinks in my kitchen usually block in the holidays, when there's lots of extra cooking going on here (generally when we've got 20 for lunch). It's no good blaming the young for putting fats down the drain, it's just as likely to be the coffee grounds I send down once or twice a day (I know, I know, they should go on the compost), or, more likely, the unbeatable combination of the two. Whatever, this is a perennial problem.

This old-fashioned solution is cheap, fun, and, amazingly, it works - although if your outlet is really blocked (and one of mine was), you may have to do it more than once.

To unblock a sink

Bicarbonate of soda (a huge box costs 99p in Tesco)
Vinegar (I used some past-its-use-by that was lurking in a cupboard)

Put three or four tablespoons of bicarb into the sink. Add equal quantities of cheap vinegar and watch them foam. After ten minutes, pour a kettle full of very hot water down the drain. Repeat if necessary.

Worked a treat yesterday.


Related links

Honeycomb - the same process, but edible