Once you’ve got a dry setup, pour a bucket of hot water down the drain. This isn’t just for show—hot water softens any soap gunk and makes your pipes feel loved. If the water runs free, you win the day. If it gurgles back up, you probably have a clog deeper in the wall, which is a whole other adventure involving a snake (the tool, not the animal, though a real snake might be more entertaining).
Final tip: never pour cooking grease down your sink. It turns into pipe-calcifying concrete that will laugh at your amateur plumbing skills. Instead, scrape it into a can, then store that can in your fridge until you forget about it for six months. That’s the authentic do-it-yourself experience.
So go forth, connect your sink, and know that you’ve just performed a ritual as old as indoor plumbing. You’ve battled gravity, vanquished sewer gas, and probably stained your favorite T-shirt. You are a hero of the kitchen, a master of the drain—and if it leaks tomorrow, well, that’s what duct tape and denial are for.