whats the best drain clog remover?

GoingUp

Lifer
Jul 31, 2002
16,720
1
71
We have a terrible clog in our bathroom and I need to go buy some stuff to get rid of it.

What do you recommend? Gel? Foam? What?
 

Mickster

Member
Jun 22, 2000
93
0
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Whatever you use,make sure sink is and has water in it when you add the cleaner.

My wife used some on our kitchen sink(i Plugged it with rice,stupid shiit)Anywhooo,...
It gurgled some of the drain cleaner backup later,and as i watched it it come up,it swirled around a bit then settled on the stainless,and ate through it an fell to floor..leaving 7 nice burn holes through the stainless,was i shocked.
Thats good steel.

That was a lesson to learn.
So maybe dont get the strongest kind off the hop,try a gentler variety or lesser one at first friend.

Mick
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
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Have you used a plunger to free it up? Or is it a slow drain.

If clogged use a plunger, if a slow drain problem then pour baking soda down the drain then add vinger and usually frees it up very well
 

TuxDave

Lifer
Oct 8, 2002
10,572
3
71
Originally posted by: Ladies Man
snake, do it right and don't mess up your pipes with that crap in a bottle

What happens if you use the 'crap in a bottle'?
 

iamme

Lifer
Jul 21, 2001
21,059
3
0
i'm not an expert here, but i've found a plunger to work the best.

for the shower drain, i've taken the cover off and just used a coat hanger to dig out the nasty hair that clogged it up. really gross, but effective.
 

Regine

Diamond Member
Sep 11, 2000
3,668
0
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I tried some generic liquid drain remover and it did not do anything.
Then I used that Drano gel stuff and it cleaned it right out.
 

Yzzim

Lifer
Feb 13, 2000
11,990
1
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I just unclogged my bathtub the other day by using a plunger to get the "bigger" crap out like clumps of hair, plastic razor cover :)confused;), plastic drain cover :)confused;), and a bunch of other crap. Once I got that stuff out I used some liquid drain clog remover (The Works, I think) and now the drain works perfectly.
 

TGregg

Senior member
Dec 22, 2003
603
0
0
Before you use those nasty chemicals! A blocked trap is your most likely culprit. And, since plumbers are lazy :D this can be very easy to fix, even for a rarely-do-it-myselfer.

If it is a sink drain, and you have PVC (plastic instead of steel or whatever those old ones are made out of), and you can access the "trap" (the S curve in the pipe below the sink), you may have an easy (although a tad gross) way to fix your problem. But if you already poured chemicals down the drain, you'll need to take special precautions to avoid getting burned by the chemicals in the trap.

How traps work: Sewage lines generate nasty methane gas, plus plenty of stink - neither of which you want in your house. So plumbers install an S pipe, called a trap. It holds water as a barrier between the sink and the rest of the sewage system, so none of that nasty gas gets into your house. It's also a great place for a clog to hang out.

Assuming you are chemical free and meet the rest of the criteria get a bucket that fits under the trap. Bail as much water out of the drain as possible. Then unscrew the trap, should be finger tight (or looser, some plumbers helpers are *really* lazy :D). Look into the trap and say "Yeeeech!". Then clean it all out, reassemble and test.

Be aware that when you unscrew the trap, all the water still in the drain above the trap will come rushing down. Hopefully, you'll get most in the bucket, but you'll probably want some rags handy to wipe up. Let us know how it goes.
 

GoingUp

Lifer
Jul 31, 2002
16,720
1
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well its already open.... pretty much.... i poured a lot of chemicals and bleach down that thing...

might as well give it a shot though
 

TGregg

Senior member
Dec 22, 2003
603
0
0
Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
I just poured a whole bottle of drano gel in and it only half opened the pipe....

Rats. Well, if you try the trap removal, you'll want some sort of eye protection and gloves, as the chemicals will burn your eyes, skin, etc. If you end up calling a plumber, be sure to tell him/her/it that you tried chemicals.

 

GoingUp

Lifer
Jul 31, 2002
16,720
1
71
Well I opened up the trap and it was clean.... the pipe above it was just plugged with black garbage, so i pulled out all that pipe and cleaned it out. Its now working!

The draino sure made it easier to scrape that crap off.....

Success! Thanks ATOT! :D
 

TGregg

Senior member
Dec 22, 2003
603
0
0
BTW, after I do something with a trap, I usually put a paper towel underneath for a day to see if it leaks. Mostly because when we moved into our new house, every single trap leaked! So I might be a bit overcautious.