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The pop-up stopper on your bathroom sink is a magnet for hair, dental floss and other yucky stuff. And it's probably a good thing because it keeps all of that out of your drains. But allowing this waste to build up for too long can cause the sink to drain slower and slower and eventually not empty at all. And because the water flow down the drain is also slowed, clogs in the drain lines can form more easily.
When you notice that your bathroom sink is draining slowly, remove the stopper and clean it. Most pop-ups can be installed two ways. They can either be hooked into the pivot rod that lifts them, or simply rest on it. If your pop-up stopper is hooked in, you'll have to unscrew the nut on the back of the tailpiece (under the sink) and pull out the pivot rod to release the pop-up (left photo). When you reassemble it, try reinstalling the rod without running it through the hole in the pop-up stopper. Then drop the stopper into the drain hole. In most cases, it will work fine this way, and you'll be able to remove the pop-up stopper for cleaning without removing the rod.
You can also update your bathtub drain to use a similar mechanism.
