clogged drains

[rh71]

I heard using Drano or Liquid Plumr was bad for the pipes because they accelerate erosion of the metal.

Is this true? My bath tub desperately needs a quick-drain solution.

 

[Electric Amish]

Depends on the drain pipes. Mine are all ABS Plastic.

amish

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

uh... you can probably fish out a big wad of hair (search for haunted house for pics) using a coat hanger.

 

[Toasthead]

Yeah I think it depends on the pipes. You should maybe look at their bottles, they might tell you more?

 

[Toasthead]

Yeah I think it depends on the pipes. You should maybe look at their bottles, they might tell you more?

 

[Harvey]

You obviously need to do something. If chemical drain cleaners or a plumber's snake, don't do it, you're in for a plumbing bill. I've used the chemicals many times without problems.

Read the label. Most say they don't damage pipes. If you own the property, and you have old steel pipes, it's probably time for a copper re-pipe. If you have PVC pipes, yikes! They don't last.

Good luck.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: yamahaXS
uh... you can probably fish out a big wad of hair (search for haunted house for pics) using a coat hanger.

Damnit all I remember that pic. At least now I know it was fished out and wasn't backwashed out...

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: Harvey
You obviously need to do something. If chemical drain cleaners or a plumber's snake, don't do it, you're in for a plumbing bill. I've used the chemicals many times without problems.

Read the label. Most say they don't damage pipes. If you own the property, and you have old steel pipes, it's probably time for a copper re-pipe. If you have PVC pipes, yikes! They don't last.

Good luck.

Wow! Do they actually use PVC or Copper for drain pipes? I thought they were only used for water service. I've only ever seen ABS and Cast Iron on the drain ends.

amish

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Wow! Do they actually use PVC or Copper for drain pipes? I thought they were only used for water service. I've only ever seen ABS and Cast Iron on the drain ends.

Could be. I only meant if the pipes were old enough to be iron, they're probably old enough to be ready for replacement.

 

[Kyteland]

If it is just a slow drain try putting about a cup of baking soda in to the drain (good old arm & hammer) and then pour a large pot of boiling water down the drain. Rinse with HOT water and repeat until the drain flows better. Do this once a month to keep your drains clean.

The reason this works is that pouring the boiling water on the NaHCO3 (baking soda) produces NaOH (lye) and CO2 (carbon dioxide) . The NaOH will dissolve the soap/oils holding hair and crap to the sides of your pipes. Just as effective as a brand name drain cleaner but much less expensive.

This doesn't work for when your drain is completely stopped up, just running slow.

 

[Rastus]

Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and get professional drain cleaner. The stuff you get at the supermarket (Drano) is weak. Don't wory about your pipes, you're not going to eat through your pipes with a fifteen minute application once every two years.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish

Originally posted by: Harvey
You obviously need to do something. If chemical drain cleaners or a plumber's snake, don't do it, you're in for a plumbing bill. I've used the chemicals many times without problems.

Read the label. Most say they don't damage pipes. If you own the property, and you have old steel pipes, it's probably time for a copper re-pipe. If you have PVC pipes, yikes! They don't last.

Good luck.

Wow! Do they actually use PVC or Copper for drain pipes? I thought they were only used for water service. I've only ever seen ABS and Cast Iron on the drain ends.

amish

the old drain fittings in our house are all copper. since they've been retrofitted a few times there's ABS adapter ends on them.

 

[DrPizza]

Yes, they use PVC for drain.
They use CPVC for water service, not PVC

If you're unfamiliar with those types of pipes, pay a visit to the hardware store or home depot...
I've done plenty of plumbing (copper is preferred to cpvc, but cpvc is easier and faster to install)
They have 2 grades... schedule 30 and schedule 40 for the PVC... one isn't used any more, but I can't remember which is which without looking. Very durable.

Also, the stuff that potato guns are made out of is the same stuff as the drains... pvc.

edit: incidentally, I had a really stubborn old drain pipe from the kitchen that clogged weekly, almost daily even. Sodium hydroxide seemed to have no effect. I remembered that I had 2 gallons of battery acid in my garage, so I gave that a try... The entire neighborhood stunk!!! Good thing it was around midnight or 1am when I did it... (rotten egg smell generated from sulfur dioxide created when the sulfuric acid reacted with the old corroded steel pipes...) That didn't work either... I ended up replacing the pipe with pvc. The rust in the steel pipe left it with about 1cm opening.