My bathroom sink drain got completely clogged and I fixed it with a shop vac

Last Saturday morning I woke up to water sitting in my bathroom sink that just would not drain. I tried the plunger first but that did nothing. Then I took apart the p-trap and found it was clean, so the clog was deeper in the wall. I remembered my neighbor mentioning using a shop vac to suck clogs out, so I grabbed my little 2.5 gallon one from the garage. I shoved the hose into the overflow opening on the sink and wrapped a wet rag around it to make a seal. After about 30 seconds of running it, I heard a loud gurgle and the water went down fast. Has anyone else tried this trick or do you stick with a snake for tough drain clogs?

2 comments

2 Comments

brooke_nguyen651d ago

Swear by the shop vac trick for clogs, saved me so much hassle over the years. Ive got a little 3 gallon one that I use for all my sinks and even the shower drain when the hair gets bad. Honestly, I tried a snake once and it just pushed the clog further down, made things way worse. The shop vac sucks it out clean, and you dont have to deal with gross sludge or fighting with a coil of metal. Plus its way easier than taking apart pipes, especially if youve got a pedestal sink with no room to work. Tbh Ive recommended it to like five neighbors and they all say it worked first try for them too.

wendy_garcia161d ago

Yeah the snake thing is hit or miss for sure. I had the same problem with one of those cheap plastic snakes, just pushed hair further down into the pipe and then I had to call a plumber anyway. What worked for me was a wet/dry vac with a rubber nozzle attachment that seals against the drain. I learned the hard way that you gotta cover that overflow hole on the sink or it just sucks air instead of the clog. Took me like 20 minutes the first time but now I can clear a shower drain in under 5. Way less gross than pulling hair out with a zip tool too.