There are a few things which you should consider when cleaning your sink drain.

Food

You should not tip any waste food down a kitchen sink, no matter how small it is unless you have a garbage disposal system. This will cause your drain to get clogged up. Things which shouldn't be put down include vegetable peelings, fruit, pasta shells, butter, grease or pop corn kernels. These can block your pipes up. Bread and butter are not good for your pipes as it forms a sticky mixture which sticks inside your pipes.

Grease

You should never put grease down the drains no matter whether it is cold or hot. Grease will stick in your drain when it cools and forms a very hard plug. You should throw the grease away in an airtight container, throw this into the bin when it's cooled down. Grease is one of the most common reasons why your drains will become clogged.

Detergents

You should only put washing up liquid down the sink, other types of detergents should not be used to put down your sink. These can clog up your pipes and cause huge problems. You may assume that it's ok to use dishwasher liquid in your sink, however this is not suitable as it will not get broken up easily.

Pesticides

You shouldn't ever pour pesticides down your drain. These can congeal when mixed with water which can block your sink. This can also eat away at plastic pipes and cause leaks.

Calcium Chlorate and Lime

If you have septic tanks then lots of people pour lots of calcium chlorate down the sink to stop the bad smell. It's ok to use this in small amounts as long as it is formulated specifically for use down your strain. Calcium chlorate and line will cause major problems when it turns into cement. This can actually cause the pipes to break.

Oil

Never allow any sort of oil down your sink, especially lubricating oils, or cleaning oil. Not only is this damaging for your drain, it is also very bad for the environment. You should also avoid putting any moisturizer, baby oil or oil based soap down your sink. Throw them away by putting them in a container and in the bin.

Another thing which causes problems for your drains is hair. You should install a hair trap so that any hair is prevented from getting into your drain in the first place. Clean these filters on a monthly basis so you don't run into any major problems.