Originally published at: Man uses compressed air to unclog sink, instantly regrets it | Boing Boing
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Welp… looks like it cleared the drain at least…
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Of course the instructions make some nod (and hand with towel covering) toward sinks with overflow drains. Behold figure_1 on the can’s instructions here, if one should bother. …ah well, perhaps the company also sells an aerosol wall cleaning product.
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At least the the overflow hole was on the front of the bowl…
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Always read the instructions 
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The patient died, but the operation was a success.
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But if he uses the other hand to hold a towel against the overflow hole, he wouldn’t be able to film himself and then post it on the internet. 
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I had to use something similar to unclog a clogged drain, but it used water pressure instead of air pressure. However I used it after removing the p-trap and putting it directly in the drain pipe underneath the sink: nowhere for the pressure to go but further down the drain. It worked like a charm, and I didn’t think anything was going to unclog it: I had already gotten a wire snake and extended it all the way and it didn’t work either.
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excellent point! and with one more added layer of determinism: if he hadn’t sprayed muck on his walls he wouldn’t have anything worth internet posting.
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Now there’s a YouTube channel-DIY repairs going right.
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I’ve never used one of these things.
Does anyone recommend them, assuming you do cover up the overflow hole?
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Seems easier to just unscrew the pipe with a bucket under it but what do I know?
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A lot of people have that same exact reaction after eating deep fried food.
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Maybe he was trying for competence porn…and failed. 
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Will the life hackery never end?! 
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Last time i had a clogged kitchen sink, I unclogged it by pouring a stockpot full of boiling water down it. Because a kitchen sink is probably clogged by fat rather than hair.
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Vinegar and baking soda. Takes a little time to work, but it does work. Looks cool doing its fuzzy thing, too.
ETA: s/fuzzy/fizzy/
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Ceramic sinks that have an overflow like that (i.e., virtually all ceramic sinks) are generally slip-cast with a fairly substantial hollow area. Given that porcelain can crack relatively easily, blasting air pressure in there seems like it would be a good way to crack --or worse, shatter-- your sink.
I’ve replaced one similar sink after a small cosmetic bottle fell in and caused a small crack. I’ve replaced a different similar sink after some unknown hard object fell off a shelf and smashed all the way through. Bad, bad shelf placement! I ended up replacing it with a stainless steel sink, which will only make a tremendous plonk sound in similar circumstances… I hope.
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Ah yes, “Impromptu Physics Fundamentals for the Layman” always is fun to watch.
