clogged up bathroom sink help!
- Thread starter Chuckaluck
- Start date
DO not use liquid plumer! It can eat away metal pipes if you have them and it is expensive. The best thing to use, told to me by a plumer, is to pour white vinegar (1 cup) down the drawn wait a couple of minutes and then flush with hot water.Do this once a month and you will never have a problem. Another method is to pur a few tablespoons of baking soda down the drain wait a few minutes and again flush with hot water. This also works like a charm!!
This one works well and is safe for plumbing: http://www.homedepot.com/Cleaning-D...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UP8OLvKcA-U
I'm on a septic tank out here in the boonies, I try not to use too many chemicals if I can help it.
Boom, there it is.
After years of using Liquid Plumbr and other such concoctions, I had a clog in the bathtub that wouldn't budge. I purchased the little plastic snake thingie and cleared it right up. I haven't had a problem since.
And the baking soda and vinegar trick is outstanding. Works like a charm. Good for cleaning stinky drains too.
Regards.
I boil a pot of water and pour it into the drain every once in a while.
Go to your local home improvement or hardware store and grab a package of these zip type drain cleaners for a few bucks, and once a month or so, run one into the sink and the bathtub/shower drain.
You will be STUNNED at what you pull out on a regular basis.
Hair, particularly long female hair, is a natural sieve for anything else going down the drain. It traps soap and soap scum and can really cause problems.
You will be STUNNED at what you pull out on a regular basis.
Hair, particularly long female hair, is a natural sieve for anything else going down the drain. It traps soap and soap scum and can really cause problems.
+2 on the P-trap, yearly cleaning for all 8 in our house.
A few months ago We had a badly clogged sink which no amount of liquid plumber could open.
What I did was to fill the sink partially with water, take a plastic bottle that fit snugly in the clogged drain and force some air and water through the pipe by squeezing the bottle several times.
Worked like a charm.
What I did was to fill the sink partially with water, take a plastic bottle that fit snugly in the clogged drain and force some air and water through the pipe by squeezing the bottle several times.
Worked like a charm.
+1 on the Zipit thing. That dopey piece of plastic is just awesome.
Some hardware stores will rent you a re-usable gas plunger. These have a built-in pump that pressurizes an air reservoir, so you can do multiple blasts without fear of running out of CO2 cartridges.
if you so much as crack the nuts on a P-trap, have a bucket under it. every time. or lots of towels. your choice.
+1. My plumber recommended the vinegar and water treatment. Let the mixture sit for about 10 - 15 minutes, then flush with hot water for 5 minutes. He suggested doing this ever couple of months. I do it every month. It's inexpensive and I have had no drain problems since I began this regimen.
I simply don't have a problem with the sink drain in the bathroom clogging up. It can get slow because of hair caught on the stopper mechanism, but that's it. After every shave I rinse and wipe out the sink which puts more hot water down the drain, keeping it cleaned out. Never have needed to pull the p-trap.
Myself and others I know that do maintenance or plumbing work are against using drain cleaners as prophylactics for keeping drains clear. Many of those cleaners cause damage to the pipes over time, and are best used for a totally stopped up drain only. The vinegar and baking soda trick is the way to go, and the cheapest.
Myself and others I know that do maintenance or plumbing work are against using drain cleaners as prophylactics for keeping drains clear. Many of those cleaners cause damage to the pipes over time, and are best used for a totally stopped up drain only. The vinegar and baking soda trick is the way to go, and the cheapest.
The easiest, safest method for unclogging a sink drain is to use a plunger. For multi-purpose sinks, plug up the unclogged drain, and add enough water to the clogged basin to cover the top of the plunger. Then work the plunger straight up and down over the drain to force the water through.
+4 the barbed plastic thingie; they sell it at the dollar store.
AA
AA
If you have females in the household, no matter their ages, you're going to have clogged drains. They'll treat the kitchen sink as a disposal, even if it isn't so equipped. They'll clog bathroom sinks and showers with hairballs and cosmetic residue. They'll use half a roll of toilet paper to wipe their tushies and clog up your sewage line. That can be lots of fun to fix, especially if you have a septic system and the blockage is at the septic tank inlet.
*sigh*
To correct some misinformation here, vinegar is just as much of an acid as the so-called 'chemicals' that people don't want to flush down the drain. It's just that acetic acid (vinegar) is generally only a 5-10% concentration for normal household vinegar, is a weak acid anyway, and so it's less damaging to the pipes. The only non-damaging solutions are hot water and amino acid/enzyme treatments. Newer houses, with all plastic pipes, won't be affected by liquid plumbr and similar.
For your sink, if you have a standard plunger stopper, reach under the sink and unscrew the nut holding the plunger lever. Pull that out, and the stopper will come out in your hand. It'll be what's trapping most of the hair and so forth. Scrape it off over your trash, or outside, and run hot water down the now open drain and the stopper. Don't worry too much about the open hole, it'll leak very little. Just screw it in if you're concerned. (leave the stopper out).
I have a full snake, which didn't cost much. At one point, in the tub, I pulled out an entire washcloth (small one), plus hair, plus a toothbrush - not ours. Must have been there for years from a previous tenant. I had a four foot snake of hair and everything else. I'll have to try to find that picture and post it. Many times, those 'zip' snakes won't reach the P-trap properly, or the plug just behind it, so be ready to get an actual six+ foot snake (you can also use it in a toilet to punch loose those enormous wads of toilet paper women are prone to use).
To correct some misinformation here, vinegar is just as much of an acid as the so-called 'chemicals' that people don't want to flush down the drain. It's just that acetic acid (vinegar) is generally only a 5-10% concentration for normal household vinegar, is a weak acid anyway, and so it's less damaging to the pipes. The only non-damaging solutions are hot water and amino acid/enzyme treatments. Newer houses, with all plastic pipes, won't be affected by liquid plumbr and similar.
For your sink, if you have a standard plunger stopper, reach under the sink and unscrew the nut holding the plunger lever. Pull that out, and the stopper will come out in your hand. It'll be what's trapping most of the hair and so forth. Scrape it off over your trash, or outside, and run hot water down the now open drain and the stopper. Don't worry too much about the open hole, it'll leak very little. Just screw it in if you're concerned. (leave the stopper out).
I have a full snake, which didn't cost much. At one point, in the tub, I pulled out an entire washcloth (small one), plus hair, plus a toothbrush - not ours. Must have been there for years from a previous tenant. I had a four foot snake of hair and everything else. I'll have to try to find that picture and post it. Many times, those 'zip' snakes won't reach the P-trap properly, or the plug just behind it, so be ready to get an actual six+ foot snake (you can also use it in a toilet to punch loose those enormous wads of toilet paper women are prone to use).
I experience a slow drain every time I use Tabac regularly too.
