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FEDURCO DRAINAGE

Problem guide

Blocked Sink

A kitchen sink that drains slowly, holds standing water or smells is usually dealing with grease and food debris — but sometimes the restriction is deeper in the drainage system.

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Kitchen sink full of standing water that will not drain

Recognise the problem

What you’re noticing

Kitchen sink problems usually build up gradually, which makes them easy to ignore until the water stops draining altogether.

  1. 01

    Slow draining

    Water takes longer and longer to empty after washing up.

  2. 02

    Standing water

    Water sits in the bowl and drains only partially, or not at all.

  3. 03

    Smells from the plughole

    Decomposing food debris and grease in the trap or pipe can produce noticeable odours.

  4. 04

    Gurgling

    Air trapped by a restriction can make the pipe gurgle as water drains.

  5. 05

    Water backing up

    Water reappearing in the sink when a dishwasher or washing machine empties can point to a shared-pipe restriction.

Possible causes

What may be causing it

These are the usual suspects — the actual cause can only be confirmed by looking at the pipework.

  • Grease and fat

    Cooking fat cools and solidifies inside the pipe, gradually narrowing it — the most common kitchen sink cause.

  • Food debris

    Rice, coffee grounds and food scraps can collect in the trap or snag on grease further along.

  • Soap residue

    Soap scum can combine with grease to form a stubborn lining inside the pipe.

  • A deeper drainage blockage

    If plunging and cleaning the trap do not help, the restriction may be in the pipe run or the outside drain.

Grease and scale inside a pipe being cleared by a jetting nozzle

When it’s not just the sink

When the problem may be deeper in the system

If the trap under the sink is clear but the water still will not drain, the restriction is likely further along the pipe run — often a build-up of grease that has hardened over months or years.

High-pressure jetting cleans the full bore of the pipe rather than just punching a hole through the blockage, which is why it is often the right answer for grease-related problems.

If the same sink blocks repeatedly, a camera inspection can show whether the pipe itself is part of the problem.

High-Pressure Drain Jetting

Related services

Services that may be relevant

Common questions

Blocked sink questions

Hot water can shift soft, recent grease, but it rarely removes hardened build-up and can damage some plastic pipework if boiling. It is fine as a first try, but do not rely on it repeatedly.

If you are comfortable doing it, cleaning the U-bend is a reasonable first step — put a bucket underneath and check the seals when refitting. If the trap is clear and the problem remains, the blockage is further down.

Smells without a full blockage often mean grease and debris are coating the pipe. The drain may still work, but the build-up is there — and it tends to get worse.

We would advise caution. They can damage some pipework, are hazardous, and often burn a small channel through the blockage rather than removing it — so it returns.

That usually means the shared pipe cannot carry the volume — a restriction downstream of both appliances. It is a sign the problem is beyond the sink itself.

Next step

Need the drain cleared?

When the blockage is beyond the trap or in the drain outside, our Drain Unblocking service can clear it.

Drain Unblocking

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