Picture this: you’re getting ready to host a dinner party at home. You’re washing all of your fancy dishes and cutlery when you suddenly hear a gurgling noise coming from your sink. The party is about to begin in a few hours, and the sink won’t stop gurgling whenever water goes down the drain.
Don’t worry, because we’re here to help you. A kitchen sink could gurgle for various reasons, and this article will walk you through some of the whys behind the gurgling. We will walk you through what to do when your sink gurgles and smells and how to fix a gurgling sink. We will also explain why the sink gurgles when you flush the toilet or when your washing machine drains.
Let’s look more closely at this problem.
Is it bad when my kitchen sink gurgles?
While it isn’t bad when your kitchen sink gurgles, it is definitely something to be concerned about. If you discover that your sink is gurgling, it would be best if you took care of the problem before it turns into an expensive and unnecessary plumbing situation.
Why does my kitchen sink gurgle?
In addition to residual food, oil, or grease getting clogged in the draining pipe, here are the other reasons why your kitchen sink gurgles.
1. It is clogged
Your sink often gurgles because you might have washed food or oil down the drain. We recommend that you don’t do these two things because they could cause your sink to get clogged over time and gurgle when water flows down the drain. Even though water might be draining from your sink, it might flow more slowly than it usually does and gurgles on its way down. If your sink is starting to get clogged, there’s a good chance that, in addition to gurgling, you will also smell foul odors and deal with standing water in your sink.
While food waste in your drains is a huge hassle, grease or oil is even worse. This is because whenever you wash your frying pans, the grease that flows down the drain coats the inside of the drainage pipes and solidifies. As a result, it becomes difficult for water to drain out of the sink, eventually causing you to hear gurgling sounds.
2. There is a problem with a vent pipe.
It might surprise you that some of the pipes in your home’s plumbing system aren’t for carrying water to and from the kitchen and bathrooms! Instead, some of these pipes have been installed to help with regulating the air pressure. The vent pipes are usually installed near the pipes that deal with draining waste.
Vent pipes have two main jobs. First, they help fresh air come into the draining pipes. The fresh air makes sure that all your waste drains out. Vent pipes also help ensure that the fresh water in those pipes stays moving whenever necessary. The blockage in the vent pipe depends on where you live. However, the blockages are generally caused by leaves, animal carcasses, or even bird nests! Since the air cannot escape easily or at all, your sink will gurgle whenever you wash dishes.
Another problem related to the vent pipe is that the previous owners or plumber might not have installed the pipe itself correctly. This, in turn, will cause your sink to gurgle whenever you use it. If they didn’t install the vent correctly, it means that the air that is supposed to enter the draining pipes is trapped. As a result, a vacuum gets created, and your sink gurgles when water flows.
What To Do if Kitchen Sink Gurgles and Smells?
When it comes to solving the problem of what to do if your kitchen gurgles and smell, don’t worry about trying to find a solution! There are several options to choose from.
Unclog your kitchen sink.
Since one of the leading causes of a gurgling kitchen sink is a clog in the drain, you can solve the problem quickly by trying out various home remedies. Some of them are as follows.
- Use baking soda and white vinegar.
If you’re someone who prefers using non-toxic chemical cleaners and disinfectants, you’re going to love this method. The combination of white vinegar and baking soda creates a chemical reaction in the drain that helps eliminate grease, food particles, and other substances that cause your sink to gurgle when water drains. By using these two ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, you’re quickly getting rid of the substances clogging your kitchen drain.
- Use a clothes hanger or plumber’s snake.
While snake drains are readily available at your local hardware store, you might be on a budget or unable to find one. Therefore, you can also use a clothes hanger. If you’re using a clothes hanger, make sure you use one that you don’t mind throwing away. It would also be best if the hanger were made out of metal because it is more malleable and easier to maneuver inside the sink drain.
Once you’ve decided which tool to use, gently insert it into your kitchen sink drain to extract whatever substances clogged the drain. If you’re using a hanger, you might have to move the end of the hanger around a little more to properly pull out the food or hair that’s clogging the drain. If you’re using the plumber’s snake, you should be able to remove the substances a little more easily.
Also Read: How to Unclog a Bathroom Sink Clogged with Hair
How to fix a gurgling kitchen sink?
We recommend carefully reading through the solutions below when fixing a gurgling kitchen sink. It would be best to go through the steps under each solution two or three times to familiarize yourself with the overall process while also ensuring that you don’t make any mistakes!
Here are some fixes for your gurgling kitchen sink:
- Invest in a good-quality drain cleaner.
While this first method might sound strange, hear us out. A good quality drain cleaner will prevent your kitchen sink drain from getting clogged. Maintaining a clean kitchen drain is one of the best things you can do for your sink! However, it is essential to remember that there are different types of kitchen drain cleaners, the most common being enzyme drain cleaners and chemical drain cleaners.
Enzyme drain cleaners are more expensive and harder to find in stores. However, you must note that these cleaners contain a specific bacteria that helps you eliminate substances you don’t want in your drain. These include food particles and other types of food waste, mildew, mold, and even hair. Additionally, enzyme drain cleaners do not contain the harsh and toxic chemicals that chemical cleaners have, making them safer for your home’s plumbing system. Therefore, if you can find an enzyme drain cleaner, we recommend purchasing it and using it to stop your sink from gurgling.
On the other hand, use it if you have a chemical drain cleaner on hand or the only drain cleaner you can find at the store! Chemical drain cleaners help you get rid of drain clogs quickly and provide you with a gurgle-free kitchen sink. However, you must remember to use a chemical drain cleaner with caution. This is because chemical cleaners often let out toxic gases that you mustn’t inhale. They can also harm your home’s plumbing system by corroding the pipes over time.
- Use an auger.
While an auger works similarly to a plumber’s snake, the two products are slightly different from each other. Many people use the plumber’s snake in their kitchen and the auger in a shower and toilet. However, the auger works very well in kitchen sink drains because it helps demolish any obstructions quickly and easily.
Here’s how you use an auger:
- Thread the snake portion of the auger down your kitchen drain.
- You will be able to feel when the auger hits the obstruction causing your sink to gurgle. Once you feel the block, feed at least 10 inches to a foot of the snake into the drain.
- Next, you need to rotate the auger’s handle. Doing so will ensure that you break up the obstruction in the drain.
- Since you’re using an auger in your kitchen sink drain, it would be best to feed the snake further into the drain to ensure there aren’t any other clogs further down the pipe.
- Once you’ve managed to get rid of the blockage, flush your drain with hot water several times until the sink stops gurgling and water flows down smoothly.
- Use a plunger to get rid of the gurgling.
The next best thing that you can do to fix your gurgling sink is to plunge the drain. Here’s how you do that.
- Place the plunger directly on top of your kitchen sink drain. If you have a basket strainer that collects food waste, remove it. If you have a double kitchen sink, seal one side of the drain to prevent air from escaping. You can seal it by covering the drain with duct tape, silicone caulk, or plumber’s putty.
- Once you’ve placed the plunger over the drain, make sure that it is tightly sealed to create a vacuum. If you’re facing trouble with this step, you can also fill your sink with a few inches of water to help create the seal and make it tight.
- After sealing the drain, grip the plunger’s handle firmly and move it up and down. Move your arm vigorously but make sure that you do not break the seal.
- By plunging your kitchen sink, you’re dislodging any clogs while also making sure that you’re letting air into the drain that keeps the water moving.
To ensure that your sink stops gurgling, flush your drain with boiling water after plunging it.
Why Does a Kitchen Sink Gurgle After Flushing the Toilet?
If your kitchen sink gurgles after flushing the toilet, there is usually a blockage in your home’s plumbing system. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that all the pipes in your home are connected, which means that there are times when one plumbing problem affects the plumbing system as a whole.
When your sink gurgles after flushing a toilet, it could mean that your kitchen sink, vent system, or sewer line has a blockage. There could also be a blockage in the p-trap under your kitchen sink.
Why does my sink gurgle when the washing machine drains?
As we mentioned earlier, the pipes in your plumbing system are all connected. Your kitchen, bathroom, and washing machine are likely to be connected to the same waste pipe. When your washing machine drains, it releases a large amount of water into a drainage pipe. However, if the drainage pipe is blocked, it means that the other pipes that are connected to it are affected, resulting in your hearing a gurgling sound in your kitchen sink.
Wrapping up
This article walked you through an explanation of why your kitchen sink gurgles. Hearing odd sounds from part of your house is cause for alarm, especially when it affects your plumbing system. We hope that now that you know more about solving this problem, you won’t feel as worried about a gurgling kitchen sink.
