what do you do about your clogged drains?

[rh71]

Since the Drano type stuff is supposedly dangerous for pipes nor did it work very well, we called a guy in to take care of the bathtub clog. He used a machine of some sort that snakes down and shakes up the clog. The guy said it wasn't hair that clogged it - it was just a buildup from soap/shampoos, etc. That was a few years ago so while this doesn't happen very often, I don't know if I want to spend another $50 to get them in here again. Is that a good price? Should I Drano more?

 

[BoomerD]

Why do you have so much soap buildup in your pipes?

I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I used Drano for anything...but I do know it's been more than 30 years.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Drano or buy yourself a snake for $15 at Home Depot

 

[seemingly random]

I tried many different chemicals. The good stuff always get removed from the market because it's too toxic. Nothing ever really worked on hair. I ended up getting a couple of snakes. One 50+ ft "heavy duty" spring type that you can attach a drill and another ~25 ft. flat metal one. There's really no substitute other than hiring someone else to do it.

 

[TallBill]

Unclog them

 

[xanis]

plunger FTW

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Xanis
plunger FTW

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Rigid Auto Spin from Home Depot, snake it yourself. I have one and haven't had to call anyone out since.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: rh71
Since the Drano type stuff is supposedly dangerous for pipes nor did it work very well, we called a guy in to take care of the bathtub clog. He used a machine of some sort that snakes down and shakes up the clog. The guy said it wasn't hair that clogged it - it was just a buildup from soap/shampoos, etc. That was a few years ago so while this doesn't happen very often, I don't know if I want to spend another $50 to get them in here again. Is that a good price? Should I Drano more?

Are you sure the Drano is bad for your pipes? At Home Depot/Lowe's they sell an acid that could be dangerous to some really older pipes a but it works really well for pretty much 99% of glogs.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

If its clogged with something organic I use ram-out (concentrated sulfuric acid), available at good hardware stores.

MSDS
http://www.kendallandson.com/drainltr/ramout.pdf

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: rh71
Since the Drano type stuff is supposedly dangerous for pipes nor did it work very well, we called a guy in to take care of the bathtub clog. He used a machine of some sort that snakes down and shakes up the clog. The guy said it wasn't hair that clogged it - it was just a buildup from soap/shampoos, etc. That was a few years ago so while this doesn't happen very often, I don't know if I want to spend another $50 to get them in here again. Is that a good price? Should I Drano more?

Are you sure the Drano is bad for your pipes? At Home Depot/Lowe's they sell an acid that could be dangerous to some really older pipes a but it works really well for pretty much 99% of glogs.

Yea I beleive its called Pequa or something. Works very well, doesnt damage pipes. Just keep the windows in your house open for a couple of hours after you use it. The fumes will be coming out of multiple drains, not just the clogged one.

 

[Sea Moose]

I have fixed that problem with a good wet vacuum cleaner. Take the drain cover off and deal around the vaccum pipe. push the hose down as far as it will go and turn it on... you will clear the drain.

 

[CZroe]

That's not soap/shampoo slime. Stop jizzing in the shower.