One of the biggest plumbing nightmares in any Thousand Oaks home is realizing your drain is no longer functioning properly. The water won’t go down – now your sink is wet and smelly. At this point, it’s fair to assume you have a clogged drain. 
What causes a clogged drain?
In a bathroom, clogged drains commonly appear when dirt or hair binds to the walls of drain pipes. When this kind of blockage builds up overtime, your shower may no longer drain. A good preventative measure is using a hair-strainer drain-cover to prevent this from occurring in the first place. 
Clogged toilets are a beast of their own, but it’s still important to consider how they occur when discussing clogged drains. Anything that doesn’t dissolve in water should NOT be flushed down the toilet. Namely, feminine hygiene productions, dental floss, diaper wipes, and cotton swabs. 
The kind of drain we will spend the most time considering today is a clogged Kitchen sink drain. These occur after grease, oil, and soap scum build up in your sink drainage pipes. We discussed it more in our Thanksgiving plumbing tips, but you should always consider the trashcan to be the first place food waste goes. 
How can you unclog a kitchen sink drain?
If, in the unfortunate situation your kitchen sink does clog, it’s important to understand safe and effective ways to solve the problem. 
If you want to try and solve the problem yourself: Start by running very hot water down the drain to soften the clog, then a small amount of dish detergent, then more hot water. After this rinse, wait a few minutes and try using a plunger on the drain and repeat the hot water/detergent cleanse a few time.
If that troubleshooting does not work, it may be time to call a plumber. Fortunately, CRC plumbing has years of experience in drain cleaning and we’d be happy to help you out with our specialized tools.
Please contact us if you need any help with your Thousand Oaks Plumbing needs
 Household Ways to Clear a Clogged Drain
If you would prefer not to call a plumber and our first recommendation did not work, you may want to consider some other methods of clearing a clogged drain. Please consider the below methods as DIY solutions – they may not always work and our not recommended to replace your plumber.
1. The Bent Wire HangerFollowing similar logic to our video above, a bent wire hanger can be used to break up any pesky clogs. 
2. Boiling WaterThis is perhaps the simplest way to clear a clogged drain – boil some water and slowly pour it down the drain in stages – allow the hot water to work between each pour. Naturally, be careful around hot water – it’s hot!