kitchen sink

[Immortal298]

finshed doing the washing up i've been putting off, and the sink took about two hours to drain.  wen it had done, i undid the trap under the sink to clear it.  first of all, there was a humungous stink.  how can i fix that?  second of all, the trap was clear.  i rinsed it out and now the sink is draining a little better, but this is the third time i've done that in a week.  is there a problem further down the pipes?  what can i do?  do i get a plumber?  or one of those mr muscle pipe cleaner solutions things?

second problem, my bathroom sink isnt draining either but i cant get to the trap for that cos its all covered by a big porcelain thing.  what do i do there?  plunger?  mr muscle?

ps> i realise i sound like a single, uninformed female here but i'm <ahem> not.

[Chessman]

Try one of those liquid drain cleaners, Mr Muscle is a good one, but there's loads out there.

[BillyNoMates]

Buy some Soda Crystals from your local supermarket. Use to freshen and clear any existing blockage. Then once a month or so to keep it all clear.

Cheaper than other products and more effective IMHO.

[Robinia]

It's odd that they're both blocked - it suggests they both lead to the same outlet & that's where the problem is.  (Are you in a house, flat or bungalow?)  Have you checked the outside drains?

This is bizarrely what happened to me .... After dismantling the indoor plumbing, & spending a fortune on Mr Muscle with no result I decided to undo the outside (plastic) pipes & found that a frog had crawled up inside & died.  Poor thing it was horrible!

[Immortal298]

all excellent advice, thank you :)  are soda crystals called the same thing in england?

i'm in a flat, but none of my neighbours have any problem.

[Eels]

Yes yes yes - soda crystals are the way forward!

Discovered this after puking in my sink while at Uni ... even coat hangers weren't able to help me then, so I resorted to soda crystals and the problem was solved.  If they can clear last night's kebab and cheap bottle of wine from the drains, they can do anything!