Sink drains slowly

A slow sink is usually a clog close to the sink itself: hair and soap scum on the stopper in a bathroom, or grease and food buildup in the trap in a kitchen. Let's figure out which one you have. Start by checking whether this is the only slow drain in the house.

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Before you start. If a chemical drain cleaner has been used on this clog, do not plunge, snake or take the drain apart, even if the sink has emptied. Lowe's says the chemicals may still be in the water, and Family Handyman says they can cause serious burns if they splash on your skin. Never follow one drain cleaner with a second type: Lowe's says mixing chemicals can create toxic fumes.

A white bathroom sink holding a few inches of soapy water that is slow to drain

Where a slow sink clogs

Every question and answer on this page, in order

Question 1: Is this the only drain in the house acting up?

Think about the other sinks, tubs, showers and toilets in the house. Have any been slow, gurgled, or had water rise in them when something else drained? If a drain has already backed up, do not run more water to test it. Water rising in the other bowl of the same double sink does not count as another drain.

Dirty water or sewage has come up out of a drain, tub, shower or toilet, even if it went back down: Sewage backup: stop using water and call a plumber
Other drains are slow or gurgle too, or the drains smell like sewer, but nothing has backed up: Likely cause: a clog in the main drain or sewer line
Only this sink is slow: go to question 2

Question 2: Which sink is it?

Bathroom sink: go to question 3
Kitchen sink: go to question 4

Question 3: Have you pulled out the stopper and cleaned the hair off it and the pivot rod?

The pivot rod is the thin horizontal rod that enters the back of the drain pipe under the sink. It is what moves the stopper up and down.

Not yet: Likely cause: hair and soap scum on the stopper
Yes, and the sink is still slow: go to question 5

Question 4: Have you plunged the sink and cleaned out the P-trap?

The P-trap is the U-shaped bend in the pipe under the sink.

Not yet: Likely cause: grease and food buildup in the kitchen drain
Yes, both, and it is still slow: The clog is past the trap: call a plumber

Question 5: Have you plunged the sink and cleaned out the P-trap?

The P-trap is the U-shaped bend in the pipe under the sink.

Not yet: Likely cause: a clog in the P-trap
Yes, both, and it is still slow: The clog is past the trap: call a plumber

Possible results

Need the words for the phone call? Build a what-to-tell-the-plumber checklist, or read when to call a plumber.