Sink backs up every 6 months

[Bigaction55]

I’ve been wet shaving for 3 years now and I love it except for the fact that my sink starts to back up around the 6 month mark. I have to dissemble to the pop up and it’s usually just a build up of funk of the pop up itself. Looks like my high Quailty soaps are giving my drain that extra cushion and volume as well.

Anyone else deal with this that has a quicker easier tip? Was thinking about trying some white vinegar, I’d prefer to stay away from drain cleaner.

 

[Galaktus]

I use one of these every few months. Seems my wife likes brushing her hair over the sink which certainly doesn't help.
BC00112 - Brasscraft BC00112 - Hair Snake

 

[rockviper]

My pop-up is cheap and I can lift it out with my fingers, which I do after every shave and quickly rinse it. If it needs a deeper cleaning, well, SWMBO's toothbrush is close at hand! I wouldn't use mine 'cause that's just gross.

 

[smudge]

Once every couple of months I pour some soda crystals down all of my plugholes, followed by the contents of a boiled kettle. Works a treat.

 

[Twelvefret]

Another option is to borrow a practice from the straight razor users. Wipe the later on a moist sponge. When finished wipe off with napkin or similar then discard. Rinse the sponge .

 

[santamariasteve]

No particular problem with my sink. I wet shave daily and I use pedestrian shaving soaps. And I routinely clean the stopper monthly. Takes 5 minutes or less. The big problem with sink clogs generally is HAIR. Monthly preventive maintenance does wonders. I have a piece of wire with a small hook on the end for fishing out hair, after removing the stopper.

How many persons use your sink?

 

[OldSkoolMillennial]

I had this problem my first few weeks of wetshaving. Running the hot water a bit longer to chase it down has been effective.

 

[mglindo]

I sincerely doubt that it is your shaving that is clogging up your drain! I would diassemble and remove the popup and if that is clear, run a snake through the u trap to make sure that is clear. I'm betting it is hair from your significant other that is clogging up the drain!


Mike

 

[Chevyguy]

I’ve been wet shaving for 3 years now and I love it except for the fact that my sink starts to back up around the 6 month mark. I have to dissemble to the pop up and it’s usually just a build up of funk of the pop up itself. Looks like my high Quailty soaps are giving my drain that extra cushion and volume as well.

Anyone else deal with this that has a quicker easier tip? Was thinking about trying some white vinegar, I’d prefer to stay away from drain cleaner.

I use one of those cleaners that looks like a zip tie with teeth to unclog my bathroom sink. I also use draino. From time to time.

Clayton

Sent from my LG-K450 using Tapatalk

 

[Chevyguy]

My pop-up is cheap and I can lift it out with my fingers, which I do after every shave and quickly rinse it. If it needs a deeper cleaning, well, SWMBO's toothbrush is close at hand! I wouldn't use mine 'cause that's just gross.

Hope she doesn't use your shaving brushes to clean the bathtub, lol.

Clayton

Sent from my LG-K450 using Tapatalk

 

[rockviper]

 

[TimD.]

I have been working on clogged sinks for 30 years. The fasted and cheapest fix is to use the plastic snake with teeth to free the clog and then water to flush it out. I like to let cold water run as I am snaking as that allows the chunks to travel down the drain rather than melt and coat the pipe further down. The pop up may have to be removed in worse cases and the p-trap if large bits, ie plastic toys, caps..etc are trapped and are causing a slow drain that leads to more soap and hair collecting on the popup.

 

[pdieten]

I'm married and have two daughters.

I own a sink plunger. Not much fun grabbing the miscellaneous crud and hair that thing pulls up but it sure does work.

 

[njpaddy]

About every 6 weeks I run vinegar & water (2/3v-1/3w) through my Cuisinart coffee pot to clean it. I then dump that hot mix down the sinks, after baking soda, where I shave and the kitchen sink. In my bathroom & shaving, sink I also put baking soda, followed by that vinegar/water mix in the overflow hole.

When I first moved into my house, my bathroom sink was draining slow. It took me about an hour of putting baking soda and vinegar down that overflow hole to clear it out. If it flows out the overflow, it's clogged. It drains much better when that channel is clear. If you have a wife or daughter with long hair, I recommend using a cheap Zip-it to pull out the hair from tub or sinks beforehand.

 

[Bakker1964]

Once every couple of months I pour some soda crystals down all of my plugholes, followed by the contents of a boiled kettle. Works a treat.

According to my plumber friends that can be bad (boiling water) if you have PVC pipes.

 

[Villalobos]

I removed the “pop up” stopper years ago. After a few disgusting slimy clean ups of that apparatus. For about 15 years I have used an old school rubber stopper with a small chain. I replace it every couple years. Also my sink has a nice work space underneath, I just unscrew the PVC and run the hose through and a small toilet brush. Amazing the gunk that builds up The sidewalls. And every few months I run enzyme magic through all my drains, and rid x in my toilets for septic health

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I never have this issue, but then I'm a sink filler, rather than quick tap turner. I think those who just do quick rinses are only rinsing the detritus into the drain where it can accumulate, whereas when I pull the plug, everything flows right through, and I don't get build up in the U bend.

 

[Big Jim]

I used to have a lot of trouble with bathroom sinks and tubs draining slow. Having a wife and two daughters with long hair certainly made things worse. The biggest difference was adding fine screens at the drain hole. It also helps a lot to make sure that you flow enough water at the end to flush out the soap from the trap. Allowing sudsy water that is mostly suds at the end seems to promote gunk build up.

The screen I use looks like this:

 

[two pass]

I use a wash basin in the sink. I fill it up about 1/3 with water, soak my brush and then face lather, shave, rinse my DE between strokes, finish. Then I empty basin contents in the commode while flushing, rinse basin then empty again. No risk of fouling delicate sink pipes or traps.
Before I started using this method, had similar problems with sink slows. Since then, am not. Fingers crossed.

 

[Scott0079]

Good maintenance is to fill the sink with hot water a couple times every week or so and let the head pressure do it’s thing.