Q&A for How to Clear a Clogged Waste Pipe

Cheap vinegar is good, but you need to give it a bit of time, or for a more powerful solution, you can get caustic soda (sodium hypochlorite) or boracic acid from the supermarket or hardware store. The cheap brand works just as well as the expensive one. Be careful and do not get any on your skin, it burns. Dilute it with water.

.Go underneath the sink, line it with paper towels or a towel. Put a large bucket underneath the P-trap. Remove as much of the standing water as possible from the sink, whether with a pan or wet vac. Unscrew the P-trap, making sure what water still in the pipe drains into the bucket. Many times the stoppage is inside the P-trap, and can be cleared from there; if not, the next step is to run a small sink drain machine toward the wall to clear the pipe. You can rent a small kitchen sink machine at Lowe's or Home Depot, and they will show you how to use it.

1) solidified grease; 2) hair, food particles, coffee grounds, etc.; 3) soap scum (calcium stearate) buildup. This may form a thick, hard coating on the pipes and closes them off eventually.

Try using boric acid and baking soda, followed by boiling water.

The hook is used to grab onto a clog so that you can pull it back up the drain pipe without issue.

If you have not taken off your p-trap under the sink yet, do that, and see if there is a blockage in there. Otherwise, the stoppage will probably be further down the drain, and will have to be unstopped with a machine. You can rent one at Home Depot or call a plumber.

Yes, although that may be too light. There are dedicated products at the store that will work better than any household items.

It should be screwed, so ask someone to get a ladder and unscrew the first place where the screws are. Half of it should come out. It depends on how far down the underground one is and how much there is. If there's a little, just try pulling it out by the other half.

If you have a clean out or an access close to the blockage or a way to dismantle the pipe, do that. I have filled the sink and then violently plunged (emphasis on the lifting, not the down plunge). If this doesn't work there is bad stuff for the environment like Coca Cola, caustic soda or hydrochloric acid that has been sworn to work. But if you have, for instance, some plastic or inorganic material in the drain it will need to be mechanically removed or destroyed.

It depends on what is actually causing the clog. If it's just toilet paper, then Drano makes a product for outside waste pipes. I'd stick a hose down as far as you can, flush out as much as possible, then drain the pipe before pouring in the Drano followed by hot water. Then, just wait, and try that a couple of times if necessary.

It is hard to say what's going on there without knowing what the system looks like. Can you tell where the two drains connect? If it's under the kitchen sink, then you could try removing the P trap and seeing if there's an issue there. Nothing there? You might have a common vent pipe so I'd try to snake that.

Snake it. A snake is a low-cost item. You can also try using hot water or the vinegar and baking soda techniques.