I’m going to cancel the rest of this day for lack of interest. My kitchen sinks stopped up yesterday, so I called maintenance. Twenty-four hours later, the water is still 2” deep, and is becoming cloudy.
I called maintenance again and they said first that “they have until the 27th” to fix it. And I said, “What am I supposed to do in the meantime with this water?” “Well you can go talk to your manager.” I said, “AS IF! IF we get a manager on a weekday, they leave at noon (it was 12:35) but most of the time, we are lucky to have a manager one day a week.” “I don’t know what to tell you.”
Cool. I know what to tell them. I will call again and tell them that the standing water in the sinks is a health hazard, and my immune system is compromised. It is a “safety” issue, now. I will look deeply into the phone to make sure they are cringing properly.
May they suffer an eternity of pain.
You have my standing-water sympathies. I’m ready to cancel Bill’s for lack of interest!
You said "sinks" so that means two. This makes a problem for the usual suggestion, "use a plunger".
When you push the water down in one sink, it rises in the other. This may not be entirely fruitless, as the agitation of the water may help to dislodge some of the obstructions.
Likely though, it will not be effective.
What you would need would be two plungers, and you may not have even one.
What to do?
Well, that's why you have me.
Herewith a recipe for a free sink plunger, or more than one.
One 2-liter plastic bottle.This part is tricky. You're going to make an air pump out of a two-liter bottle. You can acquire the plastic bottle from your own recycling bin, or have one of your neighbors donate it (them).
Well, all right, two or more.
Cut the bottle (carefully!) in half. Please be sure to cut the bottle only, as the type of emergency service you will receive if you cut yourself will not help to get your sinks cleared.
The two halves of the two-liter bottle will need to slide within one another. This may mean you will need to carefully cut the bottle where it starts to get smaller near the neck. The idea is to get a contraption that will expel air when the two pieces are pushed together.
(You might want to get enough extra bottles to experiment.)
Once you have two effective air pumps, you have two plungers!
If the bottle doesn't fit into the sink drain, the bottle top may need to be cut down. That's almost a saw cut, (the plastic is thicker). Again, be careful!
Place the air-pump/plunger neatly into the sink drains and push hard to expel the blockage. This part may be messy, and you may need to repeat it many times. That would be true of using plungers too.
I can't think that any real harm could come of using these procedures, as long as one is careful and does not get cut. As I said, it will likely be messy, but you would only be out the effort, and the cost of the materials that were destined for recycling. They can still be recycled, by the way.
Note: In reviewing this, I realize that my cuts as described may not work correctly. Use your judgement, considering the shapes involved. This type of air pump is used extensively in an art project called wind-walkers. The pressure is not great, but the cost is acceptable!