Forget everything you know about clearing clogged sink and tub drains. Throw away your snakes, plungers, and drain cleaners. There are only two things you need to know about clearing clogs, and neither one of them will cost you a dime...
First, it's a good idea to be proactive. If you notice that the water is draining a bit slower, fill the sink, tub, or other offending vessel with cold water. Then open the drain. Usually, the weight of all that water is enough to clear a minor clog. If not, fill the sink or tub again, open the drain, and use the cupped palm of your hand like a plunger to add a bit of pressure. This will clear most clogs.
No luck? Bring out the big guns. Connect your garden hose to an outdoor spigot. Drag it to your sink or tub, even if they're located on the second floor. Poke the hose in the drain, and stuff a towel around it. Have a helper turn on the outdoor spigot. After a few seconds, you'll hear the sweet swishing sound of freely draining water. Guaranteed.
Okay, so you may not want to toss your plunger. It may still come in handy for toilet clogs, but the hose trick works there, too. And it works for clogged dishwasher drains as well. I once talked an appliance repairman into trying it. We had to open the access panels, undo the drain hose clamp, and use duct tape to attach the hose to the tubing...but it worked like a charm.
The point is, the methods will not cost you nearly as much as the cost of the chemical solutions, the purchase of a snake, or a plumber, Mr. I-Take-Everything-So-Literally. Don't be such a moron.
I have always found that when I put the open end of the barrel of my .357 Magnum right next to the drain, then squeeze the trigger once, that the problem is solved!!! Try it. This stupid piece of "advise" that I just gave you is as valuable as the stupidity that I just read by someone that is probably getting paid to be so asinine. Give me a break!!!!
It depends upon where your drain is plugged up...remember that this is NOT rocket science. I'm a very female female. I have been fixing, installing, redoing, etc., etc., things around my house and rentals since in my 20's. I understand that not everyone finds such things easy...but many of you would be surprised. Yes, would LIKE to have a husband to do it for me/or me help him do it, but not going to 'hire' one or play damsel in distress over a drain plug or nearly anything else.
I DO hope that everyone here knows where the cut off water valves are for all of your sinks?? Also, most importantly...the MAIN water cut off valve even if at your outside water meter?? How to 'operate' it?
And that they need to be turned all of the way ON, or all of the way OFF....else they drip a LOT.
You have to stop up , as tightly as you can seal it, the opposite side of the sink drain. The disposal stopper is usually best, since it has a rubber seal. Use plastic wrap around it or a towel. Think air tight. I've done this by myself using myself, standing carefully on a stool, taking my foot to hold the stopper on the other drain side. Plungers are a pain, and prefer other ways.
Doesn't anyone else besides me find it extremely curious and almost diabolical that AOL has "Disabled" comments for important subjects of National Interest, and now only offers comments on trash diversion subjects like this!? Isn't also curios that this took place almost immediately after citizen opposition to Washington DC and Barrack Obama began to significantly mount!!! AOL is censoring FREE SPEECH among it's users and the Citizens of the USA wishing to make their voices heard. SHAME on AOL!!!! SHAME on You for being outright oppressive, and playing ball to such tripe and Dogma in Washington DC!!!!!
Have never tried the baking soda/vinegar, but think it is more a preventative (to be done regularly) than an easy solution.
Use your garbage disposal as little as possible (yes, I just a few weeks ago had to replace a bad one...choose one with stainless steel GRINDING parts when buying one). I flush coffee grounds, filters and all and other things down my toilet. Much larger drain pipe there!
After that, if no success. Lots of other things to try. With large trays, pans, etc. underneath sink drain....take apart your drain pipe from the top to the last screw on joint. Clean it out, if needed. Flush the debris.
Hopefully you have already tried plunger (stopping up OTHER side of kitchen sink drain or bathroom drain). Or, have tried an sink 'snake'.
Boil large pot of water, but not so much you cannot SAFELY lift/pour at sink. Put some dishwasher deterg. in the water or in the drain itself. Make SURE your pipe screw on connections are tight and have pans underneath your sink and heavy towels handy(Murphy's Law enters into all things, you know) . Pour all of the very very hot water down clogged drain (not forgetting the dishwasher deterg. to help it).
Yes, have done the hose trick a few times, but have to disconnect last pipe connection out under my sink, duck tape dry pipe end/dry hose AND hold it. Make SURE you have towels ready just in case. Do NOT do anything until you have run the end of the hose as far as you can through the pipe. AND have plastic wrap AND hose around end (MY outdoor spigot has near firehose pressure.)
Don't know how scientific this is, but i pour a kettleful of boiling water down all the drains that could get soap/hair clogs...sinks, shower, tub..every month or so..the draining always perks up.
Even before plunging a kitchen sink, you HAVE to have the other side sealed with stopper, etc. Be creative as to making this airtight. Oh, yes, I have even held the stopper other side with my foot while plunging. I try to prevent, but have often helped others that did NOT prevent. Also, if it's a lavatory (bath sink drain) it is hair, normally...you can usually 'snake' that out with a stiff wire with a crook on the end.
There is nothing easy about any of these suggestions. A garden hose? I live in an apt. and I can't do that. Cup my hand? I don't think so.. Then that suggestion at the end of the article you have to take your whole sink apart just to do it, and to have to use duct tape on top of that! no thank you.
...and, not taking your SINK apart (that would be a trick!) but the screw apart plastic (nearly all have been for years, at least) sections UNDER your sink. It is the DRAIN pipe that is plugged up,not your sink. Again, scream 'Damsel in distress' and embarrass all of our gender.
for over 40 years I have spooned 1/2 cup baking soda into my sinks and shower drains and then added 1/2 cup vinegar . It foams up. Let it sit 15 minutes and then flush with water. I do this once a month and never have had to call a plumber for a stopped up drain. It seems to clean out soap scum and hair ( in the shower) . Cheap and easy.
Then you can pay a plumber...and be at his mercy, timing and price wise. Or play damsel in distress and call a MAN. If you are lucky, you have a friend like me that will show you HOW to do it, rather than always do it for you. I repeat...this is all common sense, not rocket science. Done it many many times, usually for those who don't maintain their own drains, without chipping a finger nail.
Your best best on many sink stoppages is to remove the trap and clean it out. With the trap off you can also inspect the open drain pipe to see if there is any crude visible. Clean out what you can. Then you can run a snake or use a garden hose. If this doesn't work then the stoppage is further away and you will likely need a large snake since the main line might need to be cleaned also. You can rent these or call a plumber.
Seems like a lot of hooey to drag a hose, etc into your house when most clogs can be un-clogged with a little baking soda and white vinegar, which are common household items anyway. Just put about a tablespoon of baking soda down the drain and pour some vinegar down and watch it bubble, then your water will again flow down the drain freely.
Your thoughts about it being 'a lot of hooey' shows to me that you have never done/helped with/been around when a serious clog was far out in the pipe...as in the drain pipe you can't see that goes through your wall. I'm happy for anyone who's had such a sheltered life.
Mam, I think many drains are not maintained...and therefore have to have desperate measures. Yes, taking the pipes apart under the sink is not complicated. Prepare, and it's not messy. Clean the 'S' trap (and look at what is in the clog for clues for prevention) and the pipe sections one at a time. Line the pieces up on a towel in the order they were taken apart. Use a bottle brush and clean each part in a different sink, of course.
`````I've "dragged the garden hose" in through windows to unclog my kitchen and bathroom sinks, and tub, for years. But for five bucks, I bought a doodad, trade name "Drain King", which screws on the end of the hose and fits down the drain. It's a rubber bladder that fills with water when the spigot is turned on, making a perfect seal--THEN it blasts full-pressure down the drain! It's great! `````Also, for two bucks (literally) there's a plastic sawtoothed strip (I forget what the manufacturer calls It, sorry) that one threads down the drain--it's easy--and wriggle around, and draw back up. It catches hair, and drags it up with. I bought mine at Lowe's. The product instructions say to throw it away with the hairball, but I didn't see the point, so I wash and dry it and put it away. This may eat into their repeat-business profit, but I'm on a fixed budget, and my philosophy's always been "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
Judi Roaman: We Talk Endlessly About the Next President,…
Reader comments (Page 1 of 2)
Don't know about you, but I pay for my water so it does cost me a dime.
ReplyThe point is, the methods will not cost you nearly as much as the cost of the chemical solutions, the purchase of a snake, or a plumber, Mr. I-Take-Everything-So-Literally. Don't be such a moron.
I have always found that when I put the open end of the barrel of my .357 Magnum right next to the drain, then squeeze the trigger once, that the problem is solved!!! Try it. This stupid piece of "advise" that I just gave you is as valuable as the stupidity that I just read by someone that is probably getting paid to be so asinine. Give me a break!!!!
what happens when the water goes up the air vent and the stoppage is not removed all the water will come back in the sink and over flow
ReplyIt depends upon where your drain is plugged up...remember that this is NOT rocket science. I'm a very female female. I have been fixing, installing, redoing, etc., etc., things around my house and rentals since in my 20's. I understand that not everyone finds such things easy...but many of you would be surprised. Yes, would LIKE to have a husband to do it for me/or me help him do it, but not going to 'hire' one or play damsel in distress over a drain plug or nearly anything else.
I DO hope that everyone here knows where the cut off water valves are for all of your sinks?? Also, most importantly...the MAIN water cut off valve even if at your outside water meter?? How to 'operate' it?
And that they need to be turned all of the way ON, or all of the way OFF....else they drip a LOT.
You have to stop up , as tightly as you can seal it, the opposite side of the sink drain. The disposal stopper is usually best, since it has a rubber seal. Use plastic wrap around it or a towel. Think air tight. I've done this by myself using myself, standing carefully on a stool, taking my foot to hold the stopper on the other drain side. Plungers are a pain, and prefer other ways.
Doesn't anyone else besides me find it extremely curious and almost diabolical that AOL has "Disabled" comments for important subjects of National Interest, and now only offers comments on trash diversion subjects like this!? Isn't also curios that this took place almost immediately after citizen opposition to Washington DC and Barrack Obama began to significantly mount!!! AOL is censoring FREE SPEECH among it's users and the Citizens of the USA wishing to make their voices heard. SHAME on AOL!!!! SHAME on You for being outright oppressive, and playing ball to such tripe and Dogma in Washington DC!!!!!
Have never tried the baking soda/vinegar, but think it is more a preventative (to be done regularly) than an easy solution.
ReplyUse your garbage disposal as little as possible (yes, I just a few weeks ago had to replace a bad one...choose one with stainless steel GRINDING parts when buying one). I flush coffee grounds, filters and all and other things down my toilet. Much larger drain pipe there!
After that, if no success. Lots of other things to try. With large trays, pans, etc. underneath sink drain....take apart your drain pipe from the top to the last screw on joint. Clean it out, if needed. Flush the debris.
Hopefully you have already tried plunger (stopping up OTHER side of kitchen sink drain or bathroom drain). Or, have tried an sink 'snake'.
Boil large pot of water, but not so much you cannot SAFELY lift/pour at sink.
Put some dishwasher deterg. in the water or in the drain itself.
Make SURE your pipe screw on connections are tight and have pans underneath your sink and heavy towels handy(Murphy's Law enters into all things, you know) .
Pour all of the very very hot water down clogged drain (not forgetting the dishwasher deterg. to help it).
Yes, have done the hose trick a few times, but have to disconnect last pipe connection out under my sink, duck tape dry pipe end/dry hose AND hold it.
Make SURE you have towels ready just in case.
Do NOT do anything until you have run the end of the hose as far as you can through the pipe. AND have plastic wrap AND hose around end (MY outdoor spigot has near firehose pressure.)
Don't know how scientific this is, but i pour a kettleful of boiling water down all the drains that could get soap/hair clogs...sinks, shower, tub..every month or so..the draining always perks up.
Patty...at least as important to do it to your kitchen drain, and I use detergent in it as mentioned, to dissolve the grease along with all else.
Even before plunging a kitchen sink, you HAVE to have the other side sealed with stopper, etc. Be creative as to making this airtight. Oh, yes, I have even held the stopper other side with my foot while plunging.
ReplyI try to prevent, but have often helped others that did NOT prevent.
Also, if it's a lavatory (bath sink drain) it is hair, normally...you can usually 'snake' that out with a stiff wire with a crook on the end.
There is nothing easy about any of these suggestions. A garden hose? I live in an apt. and I can't do that. Cup my hand? I don't think so.. Then that suggestion at the end of the article you have to take your whole sink apart just to do it, and to have to use duct tape on top of that! no thank you.
Reply...and, not taking your SINK apart (that would be a trick!) but the screw apart plastic (nearly all have been for years, at least) sections UNDER your sink. It is the DRAIN pipe that is plugged up,not your sink. Again, scream 'Damsel in distress' and embarrass all of our gender.
for over 40 years I have spooned 1/2 cup baking soda into my sinks and shower drains and then added 1/2 cup vinegar . It foams up. Let it sit 15 minutes and then flush with water. I do this once a month and never have had to call a plumber for a stopped up drain. It seems to clean out soap scum and hair ( in the shower) . Cheap and easy.
ReplyThen you can pay a plumber...and be at his mercy, timing and price wise. Or play damsel in distress and call a MAN. If you are lucky, you have a friend like me that will show you HOW to do it, rather than always do it for you. I repeat...this is all common sense, not rocket science. Done it many many times, usually for those who don't maintain their own drains, without chipping a finger nail.
ReplyYour best best on many sink stoppages is to remove the trap and clean it out. With the trap off you can also inspect the open drain pipe to see if there is any crude visible. Clean out what you can. Then you can run a snake or use a garden hose. If this doesn't work then the stoppage is further away and you will likely need a large snake since the main line might need to be cleaned also. You can rent these or call a plumber.
ReplySeems like a lot of hooey to drag a hose, etc into your house when most clogs can be un-clogged with a little baking soda and white vinegar, which are common household items anyway. Just put about a tablespoon of baking soda down the drain and pour some vinegar down and watch it bubble, then your water will again flow down the drain freely.
ReplyYour thoughts about it being 'a lot of hooey' shows to me that you have never done/helped with/been around when a serious clog was far out in the pipe...as in the drain pipe you can't see that goes through your wall. I'm happy for anyone who's had such a sheltered life.
Mam, I think many drains are not maintained...and therefore have to have desperate measures. Yes, taking the pipes apart under the sink is not complicated. Prepare, and it's not messy. Clean the 'S' trap (and look at what is in the clog for clues for prevention) and the pipe sections one at a time. Line the pieces up on a towel in the order they were taken apart. Use a bottle brush and clean each part in a different sink, of course.
Reply`````I've "dragged the garden hose" in through windows to unclog my kitchen and bathroom sinks, and tub, for years. But for five bucks, I bought a doodad, trade name "Drain King", which screws on the end of the hose and fits down the drain. It's a rubber bladder that fills with water when the spigot is turned on, making a perfect seal--THEN it blasts full-pressure down the drain! It's great!
Reply`````Also, for two bucks (literally) there's a plastic sawtoothed strip (I forget what the manufacturer calls It, sorry) that one threads down the drain--it's easy--and wriggle around, and draw back up. It catches hair, and drags it up with. I bought mine at Lowe's. The product instructions say to throw it away with the hairball, but I didn't see the point, so I wash and dry it and put it away. This may eat into their repeat-business profit, but I'm on a fixed budget, and my philosophy's always been "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."