Discovered a 5 minute fix for my slow kitchen sink drain using a shop vac in reverse

Instead of dumping chemicals down there I sealed the overflow hole with tape and pushed the shop vac hose against the drain on blow mode and it cleared a clog that had been building for two months in under a minute, anyone else tried this method?

2 comments

2 Comments

adams.harper1d ago

Oh wow, that's a pretty clever trick honestly. But just one thing I gotta point out - you said you pushed the hose on blow mode, but usually you'd want to use the shop vac on vacuum mode to pull the clog out, not blow it. If you blow air into the drain you could push the clog further down the pipe or even mess up the trap seal. I've seen people do the reverse method with a plunger but with a shop vac it's better to suck the gunk out so it doesn't just relocate. Still, glad it worked for you, just be careful with that approach next time.

keithbennett1d ago

Tried something similar with my laundry room sink a few months back. Actually used the vac on suck mode first with a wet rag seal. Got out this nasty sludge that had coffee grounds and soap scum mixed into a paste. Then ran hot water for a solid minute and it's been flowing perfect since. Blowing air into it made me nervous honestly, too many joints in those pipes.