The morning the kitchen sink finally rebelled, I was staring at a pool of murky, lukewarm dishwater that refused to budge. I had a dinner party in four hours and a drain that had decided to go on strike. After a quick search for a non-toxic fix, I found a bag of (sodium carbonate) tucked under the sink and decided to give the "boiling water sandwich" method a try. Here is how the rescue mission went down: