One thing people forget: don’t overtighten those plastic nuts on the trap. Hand-tight is usually enough. Crank them down too hard and they’ll crack, then you’ve got another problem.
That’s a point that doesn’t get enough attention—plastic threads just don’t have much forgiveness. I’ve seen folks try to “fix” a drip by wrenching down on those nuts, only to split them and end up with a worse leak than before. Sometimes less is more.
I do agree about the drain cleaners being more trouble than they’re worth, but I’ll admit I’ve used them in a pinch when nothing else was handy. Didn’t love the results—just ended up with a weird chemical smell and, like you said, pipes that looked like they’d been chewed on. If you’re going to use anything, enzyme-based cleaners are at least a bit gentler, though they’re not miracle workers.
Checking washers and seals is smart advice. I’ve had traps that looked fine until I took them apart and found the rubber had basically turned into sticky tar. Not something you want to discover after you’ve put everything back together and water’s running down the cabinet.
One thing I’d add: if you’re taking apart old metal traps, keep an eye out for corrosion around the threads. Sometimes it looks fine from the outside but is paper-thin inside. I learned that the hard way when I reassembled everything and it started leaking from a spot I couldn’t even see before.
And yeah, gloves are a must. The stuff that comes out of kitchen drains... let’s just say there are smells that stick with you for days.
If anyone’s got persistent clogs, it might be worth snaking further down the line too. Sometimes it’s not even the trap or immediate pipe—it’s way down where all the gunk settles over years of use. Not fun, but better than replacing pipes every couple years because of shortcuts gone wrong.
