How to Snake a Kitchen Sink | Clear Stubborn Clogs

When plunging stops working, a drain snake is the next step. The tool feeds a coiled cable into the pipe, where it bores through grease and food buildup that hot water can’t touch.

Before you start, gather a hand auger, a bucket, cleaning gloves, and safety goggles. That last one matters more than people think — the cable can fling debris and standing water when it comes back out.

Clear The Cabinet And Remove The Trap If Needed

Move everything out from under the sink so you can reach the pipes. Put a bucket directly under the P-trap, the curved section of pipe that connects your sink drain to the wall. Loosen the nuts on both ends of the trap with your hands or pliers, and slide it off carefully — it will contain water and any debris that hasn’t made it downstream.

Check the P-trap for visible obstructions. If you can see a clump of food or grease right there, you’ve found the whole problem and can skip the snake entirely. Otherwise, you have two access points: the drain opening at the bottom of the sink, or the open pipe end where the trap was attached.

Leave the trap off while you work so the snake can reach farther into the line, then reinstall it once the clog clears.

Feed The Snake And Work The Cable

Loosen the set screw on the auger handle, pull 12 to 15 inches of cable off the reel, and push it into the drain opening or the open pipe. Keep turning the handle clockwise as you feed the cable in — that rotation is what lets the tip bore through grease rather than just pushing up against it.

Don’t force it. A common mistake is feeding the cable too fast, which kinks the coil and can score plastic drain pipes. Work in a push-pull rhythm instead: feed in about three feet, pull back two feet, then advance again as the clog breaks apart.

Pull it back and reangle it so it travels downward toward the main line.

Clear The Clog And Test The Drain

You’ll feel the cable seem to take hold and then suddenly give — that’s the auger boring through the blockage. Keep rotating clockwise while you retract the cable, and pull it out a few feet at a time so you can wipe off the debris without dragging it back through the pipe.

Reassemble the P-trap, hand-tighten both nuts first, then snug them with pliers. Flush the sink with hot water for a full minute to wash away the loosened residue. Run the water and watch for pooling. If it drains freely, you’re done.

Snaking A Kitchen Sink: Rules That Apply Today

Two rules keep this job safe and effective. First, don’t snake a sink right after using a chemical drain cleaner — the caustic liquid can splash back at you when the cable moves through it. Flush the drain with plain water first and wait several hours. Second, never let the cable spin at high speed inside plastic pipes; easy clockwise rotation works without damage.

Kitchen sink clogs are almost always grease and food matter in the trap or the first few feet of line, so a standard hand auger handles them well. If you find yourself snaking the same sink a few times a year, the clog may be building up in the branch line beyond the access point — that’s when a longer drum auger makes sense. For a look at which models handle kitchen drains well, our tested roundup of kitchen sink drain snakes breaks down the options. If the clog sits deeper than your cable can reach, or returns within days, a professional with a motorized auger or hydro-jetter is the right call.