Kitchen sink choke
A choked kitchen sink holds water or drains very slowly, usually because grease and food scraps have built up in the trap or waste pipe. Most are cleared by hand or with a drain spring in under an hour, while old grease further down the pipe needs a drain machine.
Typical price
$80–$220per job, standard hoursTypical job time
30–90 min
Estimate, confirm on WhatsApp
What it looks like
- Water sits in the sink after washing up and drains away slowly or not at all.
- Both bowls of a double sink fill up, or water rises in one bowl when the other drains.
- A sour or rotten smell from the sink outlet.
- Gurgling from the sink or the nearby floor trap when water runs.
- The kitchen floor trap overflows when the sink drains, in flats where the sink pipe runs into it.
Common causes
- Cooking oil and grease poured down the sink. It cools, sticks to the pipe wall and traps food scraps.
- Rice, noodles, coffee grounds and vegetable peelings washed down without a strainer.
- Detergent residue mixing with grease into a thick, waxy layer.
- A loose or missing sink strainer letting larger bits through.
- A sagging or badly sloped waste pipe under the sink where debris settles.
- A blockage further along in the kitchen floor trap or branch pipe.
Before you call
Safe things to try first
- Scoop out standing water, then use a cup plunger over the outlet, holding a wet cloth over the second bowl or overflow hole.
- Pour a pail of hot tap water with some dishwashing liquid to soften fresh grease, then wait 10 minutes.
- If the sink has a bottle trap or U-trap with a screw-off cap, put a pail underneath and clean it out by hand.
- Skip caustic drain cleaners. They rarely clear an old grease plug and are dangerous if the pipe has to be opened afterwards.
Stop and call if
- Water comes up through the kitchen floor trap when the sink drains.
- The sink chokes again within days of being cleared.
- You have already used a chemical drain cleaner. Tell the plumber before they open the pipe.
- Other flats on the same stack report the same problem. In HDB blocks, contact your town council first.
What we do
- 1Check whether only the sink is slow or the floor trap and other fittings are too, to find where the blockage sits.
- 2Open and clean the sink trap, then clear the waste pipe with a hand drain spring.
- 3If grease has built up further along, run a motorised drain machine through to the floor trap or branch pipe until water runs at full flow.
- 4Check the waste pipe joints and slope under the sink, and reseal any joint that was leaking.
- 5Run hot water for several minutes to test, and explain how to keep grease out of the pipe.
How much it costs
Most kitchen sink choke jobs in Singapore cost $80–$220 (per job, standard hours). This is an estimate; the final price is confirmed on WhatsApp or on site before work starts.
- Manual clearing of trap and waste pipe$80–$130
- Motorised drain machine$140–$220
- Replacement sink trap or waste parts$20–$60
- After-hours surcharge$50–$150
HDB, condo and landed
HDB
The sink, its trap and the pipe to the floor trap or branch are the owner's to maintain. If the kitchen floor trap also backs up and other flats on the same stack are affected, the common stack may be the cause, and that is the town council's job.
Condo
Pipes inside the unit are the owner's; the stack is maintained by the MCST. Let security know a plumber is coming and check any by-law limits on hours for noisy work.
Landed
Kitchen waste usually runs to an inspection chamber outside. If that chamber is full of grease or standing water, the choke is in the underground line rather than the sink.
Kitchen sink choke: common questions
Can I pour cooking oil down the sink if I run hot water after it?
No. Hot water only carries the oil a little further before it cools and sticks to the pipe. Let oil cool, pour it into a container or wipe the pan with paper, and bin it.
Why do both sides of my double sink choke together?
Both bowls share one waste pipe after their traps. If both are slow, the blockage is past the point where they join, often in the shared pipe or the floor trap.
Does baking soda and vinegar clear a kitchen sink choke?
It may freshen a slow drain but will not shift a solid grease plug. Hot water with dishwashing liquid and a plunger is more useful for minor cases.
How do I stop my kitchen sink choking?
Use a fine sink strainer, scrape plates into the bin, keep oil out of the sink and run hot water after washing greasy pots. If it still chokes every few months, have the pipe cleared to full bore rather than just punched through.
Do I need a licensed plumber to clear a sink choke?
No. Clearing blockages in sinks does not need a PUB Licensed Plumber, and neither does installing a sink with its bottle trap.
Get a price for kitchen sink choke
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