Clogged kitchen sink in Folsom

A kitchen sink that won’t drain is usually grease and food in the trap, or in the line behind the wall. If other drains in the house are slow too, the problem is further down the line.

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Homes and properties in the City of Folsom, CA (ZIP 95630). For owners, landlords and property managers.

You’ll be asked for your address, which drains are affected, and whether water is coming back up.

We’re a referral service, not a plumbing company. Your call connects you with an independent local plumber, who may pay us for the referral. How this works

Call to check when a local plumber can come out.

Safe first checks

Disposal hums but won’t turn? Switch it off at the wall. Many units have a reset button underneath and a socket for a hex key that turns the motor by hand. Never put your hand inside.
Double sink? Seal the drain on the other bowl with a stopper or a wet cloth held down firmly before you plunge. Use a flat cup plunger, not the flanged kind made for toilets.
Only the kitchen is slow? The clog is probably in the trap or the branch line, the section between the sink and the main.
Other drains slow too, or the toilet gurgles when the sink drains? Stop here. That points to the main line, and plunging the sink won’t reach it.

Why kitchen lines clog

Kitchen drains carry the one thing other drains mostly don’t: fat. Cooking grease, butter, sauces and meat drippings go down as liquid, cool in the pipe and coat the walls. Food particles stick to the coating and the opening narrows a little more each week.

A disposal grinds food smaller, but it doesn’t make it go away. Coffee grounds, eggshells, rice and pasta are the usual partners to grease in a kitchen clog.

Folsom’s sewer code addresses this directly. It prohibits discharging fats, oils and grease that leave a sheen, build up anywhere in the system or obstruct it, and food waste larger than a quarter inch (Municipal Code 13.08.120). The grease that clogs your branch line is the same grease that ends up in the City’s mains.

What a plumber does

Most kitchen clogs are cleared with a small drain cable run through the trap opening or a cleanout behind the cabinet. Where the line is coated thick with grease and keeps closing up, hydro jetting cleans the pipe wall instead of just punching a hole through it.

Keeping it clear

Wipe pans with a paper towel before washing them.
Pour cooled grease into a can or jar and throw it in the trash.
Use a sink strainer, and empty it into the trash or compost.
Run cold water while the disposal runs, and for a few seconds after.

Kitchen sink questions

Why does water come up in the other side of my double sink?

Both bowls join at a tee before the trap. If water rises in one bowl when the other drains, the clog is at or past that tee, in the trap or the line behind the wall. Plunging one side without sealing the other just pushes water back and forth.

My dishwasher won’t drain either. Is that related?

Usually, yes. Most dishwashers drain into the sink drain or the disposal, so a clog in the kitchen line stops both. If the sink drains but the dishwasher doesn’t, the problem is more likely the dishwasher’s own hose or pump.

Is it OK to put grease down the disposal with hot water?

No. Hot water only carries grease further down the pipe before it cools and sticks. Folsom’s sewer code prohibits discharging fats, oils and grease in amounts that build up in or obstruct the sewer system. Let grease cool, then throw it in the trash.

Sink still won’t drain? Call a local plumber.

You’ll be connected with an independent local plumbing company. Have your address ready, and say which drains are affected and whether anything is backing up. It helps the plumber bring the right equipment.