One of the most common plumbing emergencies in the home is clogged kitchen sink drains. Clogging in kitchen sink drains may cause dirty, foul-smelling water to collect in the kitchen sink, making it difficult to go about normal kitchen chores. In some situations, the stagnant water can overflow on the kitchen countertops and end up on the floors. This can cause serious structural damage to the house.

Knowing how to keep your kitchen sink drains clog-free is critical to ensuring your kitchen remains functional at all times. In that regard, here are some important tips to keep in mind.

Desist from the habit of pushing stray food debris down your kitchen sink drain.

The sink strainer installed over your kitchen sink drain hole serves a special purpose — to prevent large bits of food from going down your kitchen sink drain together with wastewater. Unfortunately, it is often subjected to a lot of abuse by homeowners who force or wash stray food particles down the sink. The solid rubble usually ends up collecting inside the drainpipes and can lead to clogging issues over time. Therefore, you should avoid forcing any food debris trapped by your sink strainer down the drains. Instead, you should remove the debris and put it in a rubbish bin.

Keep cooking oils, fats and grease out of your kitchen sink drains.

A build-up of cooking oils, fats and grease will also not do your kitchen sink drains any good. These elements will cool and congeal inside your drainpipes and cause serious clogging problems with time. The best way to forfend this problem is to dispose of the waste in the rubbish bin and regularly pour some hot water into the drains to help liquefy the substances so they can flow easily. If you regularly use cooking grease in your kitchen, consider installing a grease trap.

Monitor your kitchen sink drain flow rate.

Monitoring your kitchen drainage will help you keep an eye out for clogging problems. A slower drain flow rate is an indication of blockages in the drainpipes. To prevent serious clogging issues, you should try to fix the problem with a plunger or consider calling in a plumber to handle the problem for you.

Ensuring that your kitchen sink drainpipes are flowing properly is vital to ensuring effective use of your kitchen. If applied the right way, the above-elaborated tips can help you prevent clogging issues with kitchen sink drains. In case of any blocked drain issues in the kitchen and home, contact a local blocked drain specialist.