That time my sink backed up and took 4 hours to fix instead of 20 minutes

I had plans to hit the flea market last Saturday morning, but my kitchen sink started draining super slow. Figured it was just a quick clog, so I grabbed the plunger and went at it for 10 minutes with zero luck. Ended up having to pull the P-trap, fish out a wad of soggy coffee grounds and grease that had built up over months, and then snake the line twice. Four hours later the sink was clear, but I missed the whole flea market. Has anyone else had a 'quick fix' turn into a whole afternoon project?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee_reed1mo ago

A broken plunger handle at 11 PM with a toilet sounds like a nightmare honestly. @tara793 I gotta ask though, have you ever actually had a plunger work on a sink clog that was pure grease and coffee grounds? Because I bet that sink of mine was laughing every time I pushed down for 10 minutes straight. There's a big difference between a toilet clog that just needs pressure and a kitchen sink full of solidified gunk that requires full pipe disassembly. Which ones have you actually cleared with just a plunger?

tara7931mo ago

Plungers always work eventually, you just gave up too early.

nancycooper1mo ago

Right, because nothing says "I've got this handled" like watching a plunger handle snap off in your hands at 11 PM with a backed up toilet. I've been there, and the only thing that "eventually" happened was me realizing I should have called a plumber two hours earlier. Plungers work great until they don't, and by then you're just giving it a half-hearted shove while accepting your fate.