What are common kitchen plumbing problems?

Mostly grease, with food scraps close behind. The City of Phoenix says grease is "the most frequent cause of sewer problems." Pouring it down the drain, even when followed by hot water, doesn't help: the city says it "eventually cools down, congeals, builds up, and hardens," forming a plug in both the home's pipes and the city sewer. The fix is simple. Let grease and cooking oil cool, then put them in the trash.

Food scraps add to the problem. Coffee grounds, rice, pasta and fibrous peels tend to settle in the trap and stick to the grease already there. A sink that drains slowly for weeks is usually a pipe that's slowly narrowing.

What to try: block the second basin if you have a double sink, then plunge. If that fails, put a bucket under the trap, remove it and clean it out. If the clog is past the trap, a hand snake is next. Skip the harsh chemical drain cleaners. Our guides to unclogging a kitchen sink, fixing a slow-draining sink and what not to put down the drain walk through each step.

### When is it more than a sink clog?

When other drains act up too. If the kitchen sink backs up while the washer drains, or water rises in a tub or floor drain, the clog may be in the main line. Our page on a sewer line problem making multiple drains back up explains the signs. And if the same sink keeps clogging no matter what, see why the same drain keeps clogging.

Three things, mainly: jams, a unit that won't start, and leaks.

Jams. A disposal that hums but doesn't grind usually has something wedged in it. Always cut the power before you reach in or work on it. Our page on a garbage disposal that hums but won't work covers how to free it.

Won't start. Many disposals have a reset button on the bottom of the unit. Our guide to where the disposal reset button is shows where to look.

Leaks. Water can come from the sink flange at the top, the dishwasher hose connection on the side, or the drain outlet. Our page on a leaking garbage disposal helps you narrow it down.

Most disposal trouble starts with how it's used. InSinkErator's own instructions:

1. 1"Never put fats, oils, or grease into a garbage disposal."
2. 2Run a steady stream of cool water before you turn it on.
3. 3Turn it on before adding any food waste.
4. 4Feed food in gradually, not all at once.
5. 5When it's done grinding, turn it off and let water run for a few seconds "to flush the drain pipe."

Our pages on running hot or cold water with a disposal and a disposal that smells bad cover the rest.

These three are easy to confuse, so check where the water actually shows up.

### Why is there water under my kitchen sink?

A leak under the sink usually comes from one of a few spots: the hot or cold supply lines, the shutoff valves, the drain trap's slip joints, the disposal, or the dishwasher connections. The EPA suggests checking under sinks for leaks "at pipe connections, puddling, or other water spots." To find the source, dry everything with a paper towel, run the faucet, then run the drain, and see which joint gets wet first.

A slow drip under a sink can go on for months before anyone notices a swollen cabinet floor. Our guide to a leak under the sink walks through each joint and when a part needs replacing.

### Why does my kitchen faucet drip or run weak?

A drip usually means a worn part inside the faucet. On older compression faucets that's a washer; on most newer single-handle faucets it's a cartridge. It's worth fixing soon: the EPA's Fix a Leak Week page says a faucet dripping once per second "can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year." Our guide to fixing a dripping faucet covers both types.

Weak flow from just the kitchen faucet usually points to the aerator, the small screen at the tip. Scale and debris build up there. The EPA suggests white vinegar or another cleaning product to remove buildup "that may be restricting flow." If both hot and cold are weak everywhere in the house, the problem is bigger than the faucet. Our page on low water flow from one faucet explains how to tell.

If the faucet is past saving, the EPA suggests replacement kitchen faucets with a flow rate between 1.5 and 1.8 gallons per minute. Our guide to replacing a kitchen faucet covers the swap.

Standing water in the bottom of the dishwasher usually means a clog somewhere on the drain path: the filter inside the machine, the drain hose, the air gap on the counter if you have one, or the garbage disposal the hose connects to. Two quick checks catch a lot of cases. Clean the dishwasher's filter, and run the disposal, since food in the disposal can back up into the dishwasher hose.

If the trouble started right after a new disposal went in, check whether the plug inside the disposal's dishwasher inlet was knocked out during the install. Our guides to a dishwasher that won't drain and what a dishwasher air gap does cover the rest.

A few habits cover most of it:

• Keep grease out of the drain. Let it cool and trash it, as Phoenix advises.
• Scrape plates into the trash before rinsing or loading the dishwasher.
• Use the disposal the way the maker says, with water running and food fed in slowly.
• Look under the sink now and then for drips and stains.
• Clean the aerator when flow drops.

Our yearly plumbing maintenance checklist puts the kitchen checks on a schedule with the rest of the house.

### When should you call a plumber?

Call when a clog comes back after you've cleared the trap, when more than one drain is slow, when water is getting into the cabinet and you can't find where, or when a faucet or disposal needs replacing and you'd rather not do it yourself. HQ Plumbing & Air handles kitchen clogs, leaks, faucets and disposals across the Phoenix area. We're available 24/7, licensed and insured, and you get a free estimate with upfront pricing. See our residential plumbing services.

Most kitchen plumbing problems start at the drain, so that's where prevention starts too.