The Major Mistakes To Avoid When Cleaning Your Kitchen Drain

There's nothing worse than a stinky or clogged kitchen sink. Water that won't drain renders the sink virtually useless and creates a yucky, stagnant pool of food scraps and bacteria in your home. Cleaning drains may seem like a task that requires special tools like snakes, plungers, and wrenches, but that's not necessarily the case. Maintaining a clean kitchen sink that flows smoothly and sparkles while doing it doesn't have to be left to the professionals.

The number one biggest mistake to avoid when it comes to kitchen drain maintenance is waiting until there's a big clog to tend to it. Regular upkeep is the key to avoiding devastating drain disasters and turning a potentially huge and expensive chore into a manageable task. Think about how quickly dirt and grime builds up on the visible surfaces of your home, then imagine the buildup that is occurring in your kitchen drain on a daily basis where you're unable to see it. Really, anytime you find yourself scrubbing or rinsing the basin and faucet, go ahead and spend a few minutes cleaning the drain, too, and you'll notice less odors and clogs that are fewer and farther-between.

Another mistake to avoid when cleaning your kitchen drain is not having a drain catcher, or having a drain catcher with holes that are too large. This one goes hand-in-hand with regular maintenance, as preventative measures are key when it comes to keeping your sink in tip-top shape. Keep your kitchen drain clean and flowing by preventing food waste and other gunk from getting in there in the first place. After all, you can't have a clog if there's nothing down there to get stuck.

The only things that should be making its way into your drains are liquids, so the finer the mesh on the catcher, the better. Non-soluble solids like coffee grounds, grains of rice, or anything else that could clump together and gather in your sink's p-trap should always be thrown in the trash. The p-trap is the u-shaped pipe that usually sits just beneath a sink and prevents debris from getting too far into the pipes as well as stopping sewer gas from getting into your home — it's where larger pieces of food and debris like to get trapped. It can be helpful to periodically open up the p-trap from underneath the sink to clean out stubborn clogs or greasy residue buildup.

No doubt you're familiar with popular liquid drain cleaners like Drano or Liquid Plumr that use toxic chemicals to eliminate clogs. Overusing or incorrectly using drain cleaning liquids can be one of the biggest mistakes you make when cleaning your kitchen drain. These liquids offer a temporary solution, but not one that is worth the environmental impact or potential longterm damage to pipes. They can also be deceptively dangerous to use. Remember, just because you can buy it right off the store shelf doesn't mean it's safe. Accidentally ingesting or inhaling drain cleaning liquids or having them come in contact with eyes or skin can cause serious health issues. These chemicals are effective because they are powerful, but there are safer, less-toxic options that work just as well.

One such cleaning hack is white vinegar and baking soda. It's a solution that you'll see recommended by professional cleaners and cleaning influencers on TikTok alike. And while the mixture may not be able to remedy extremely old or greasy clogs, both vinegar and baking soda have deodorizing properties and make a fizzy chemical reaction when mixed that agitates and dislodges stuck debris in your drain. Try it out next time you notice that your drain could use a little TLC.