Dishwasher drain backing up into sink

Question

Just a couple days ago my kitchen sink started to get clogged and now won't drain. My sink is divided into two sections; both will fill up with water. When I run the garbage disposal, the sink with the garbage disposal empties just for a few seconds, but it looks like that water is just moving into the section on the right, and once I stop the garbage disposal, the left sink then fills up again.

My dishwasher has water sitting in the bottom of it, and yesterday it was leaking onto the floor. When the dishwasher drains, it drains only partially and all the water from the dishwasher ends up in the sink.

I tried vigorously plunging it, I poured plenty of boiling water into the drain, and I have tried drain cleaner with no luck.

I was thinking about buying a snake, but wanted to get input on any other ideas as I am definitely not a plumber.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

You have a clog somewhere in your line. The first thing to do is check out your P-Trap because it's fairly easy and doesn't require any tools (assuming the nuts weren't tightened by Hercules). If that doesn't work then it's time for a snake. Snake by removing the trap and going in under the sink. Then you won't have to navigate the P-Trap and will have an easier time.

Look around for cleanouts. If you can't reach the clog from under the sink, moving to a different, downstream access point might bring you close enough to get it.

Answer 2

There is an (exhaust) hose from the dishwasher to the garbage disposal in your sink. In many installations, that hose is just draped along the bottom of your sink cabinet. That positioning of the hose can let water siphon from the sink to the dishwasher. To stop that siphoning, just tie some part of the hose so that part is higher than the garbage disposal. Then the dirty water will remain in the sink. This fix does not address your blocked drain pipe in the sink, but will stop the dirty water from flowing back from the sink into the dishwasher.