Reuben Saltzman

How to fix a slow drain at a bathroom sink

To fix a slow drain at a bathroom sink, don’t mess with acids that you pour down your sink. They can damage the pipes, and they don’t always work.

No drano

Instead, get yourself a zip drain cleaning tool, like the one shown below. Menards currently has them on sale for $1.39.

Zip-It Drain Tool

If you have to pay full price, you may need to pony up $3.

You can stick this right down your drain, past the pop-up assembly, and pull out a big old hairball. That’s what usually causes a slow drain. But for the best results, I recommend removing your drain stopper first. This will give you better access to the drain. Check out the short clip below to see the whole process.

2 responses to “How to fix a slow drain at a bathroom sink”

  1. Alex
    February 6, 2026, 8:36 am

    Love this tip.

    >don’t mess with acids
    Fun fact: most common drain cleaners are bases (alkaline), not acids.

  2. Reuben Saltzman
    February 6, 2026, 9:12 am

    Fascinating. Growing up working at a hardware store, the most popular drain cleaner everyone asked for by name was Santeen S-T Drain Opener, which was mostly sulfuric acid. I assumed the other drain cleaners were the same.

    But you gotta admit, telling people not to mess with bases doesn’t have the same ring ;-).

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