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.
Those do work. I highly suggest you try a new product calle Flexisnake. It cleans out hair stuck in the drain. For about $8.00 it can be done a couple times a year and then go buy a new device. This thing really works. Check Lowes, even Sams, or nearly any harware store like ACE. They are manufactured in Chillicothe, IL. They really do work and it takes just a minute to get the drain running again. This is really good for families with a wife, daughters, and even young men with long hair. It does get in your drain in the bathroom for sure. Check it out.
I'm glad I have never DRANK soft drinks, colas or otherwise! And, I don't think some of you have ever had a REAL drain stoppage. Hair clogs in bathroom lavatory drains, grease/food in kitchen drains. Never hurts to check through Lowe's and/or ask at ACE Hardware. Normally, I end up solving it the cheapest way (-: and I'm not too lazy to do it. Prevention is the easiest...
some advice i can share is that the washing machine faucet can usually accomodate a garden hose so you may not have to go outside, but i will use the hot side and flush my drains just to keep the gook from building up
coke can work sometimes but once it gets diluted its effectiveness is weakened, as a maintainence item for drains i use a degreaser and pour it down full strength and let it sit for a while
This is an absolutely horrible recommendation. With over half our country reporting drought conditions, one should NEVER consider wasting 40 - 100 gallons of water to unclog a drain. It is irresponsible to even publish this article when we are in a water crisis locally, regionally, and globally. I hope the author considers the overall impact of these ridiculously frivilous recommendations.
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this one yet.....works on most drains, but especially well for toilets. Try to use it before it's a complete stop-up, just getting sluggish. About 1/2 a bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid, poured into the toilet, allow to sit for at least an hour ( several hours is better), then just flush. It's an amazing solution, & really works!
This is BAD NEWS for my next door neighbor the PLUMBER! He has shown me many tricks through the years. When he encounters an EASY CLOG at the home of a Senior Citizen or single mother he always shows them these tricks. Scott is a GREAT GUY! Peace, Frog
These solutions may work... but the problem may be worse than one may think... If you have cast iron pipes the pipes may have heavy build up and scale due to miss use... no amount of water or plunging will take care of this... you need to snake the line out, or the cast iron has rotted out again all you are going to do is over complicate the problem. if there is a plug you have to remove it before flushing it. We offer hydroflushing to completely clean your lines only after we have snaked it to make sure we can get through it and the water has some place to go. And don't flush your coffee filters and grounds down the toilet just because they are attached to bigger pipes, the opening on your toilet is just under two inches you can clog your toilet like this.
I am all for someone trying to save some money and fix a simple problem by themselves but know when to say when, more often than not people compound the problem by using hazardous chemicals (i.e.: acids, or lyes) that can hurt them or by using equipment that they have not been trained to use, I have seen pipes ruined by both and customers don't understand that a licensed PROFESSIONAL Plumber goes through months and years of training to properly install and maintain ones plumbing system upto the letter of the code set up by the country, state and municipality in order to protect the health of the nation. anybody who can not respect that you can go back to peeing in a pot and throw it outside and see how pleasant life was over 150 years ago.
I am a plumber and have been for the last 40 years and if you really want to distroy your floor,cieling and everything, than listen to this dumbass!!!!!!!!
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Reader comments (Page 2 of 2)
Those do work. I highly suggest you try a new product calle Flexisnake. It cleans out hair stuck in the drain. For about $8.00 it can be done a couple times a year and then go buy a new device. This thing really works. Check Lowes, even Sams, or nearly any harware store like ACE. They are manufactured in Chillicothe, IL. They really do work and it takes just a minute to get the drain running again. This is really good for families with a wife, daughters, and even young men with long hair. It does get in your drain in the bathroom for sure. Check it out.
Replya 2 liter coke works magic itll eat through about anything
ReplyI'm glad I have never DRANK soft drinks, colas or otherwise! And, I don't think some of you have ever had a REAL drain stoppage. Hair clogs in bathroom lavatory drains, grease/food in kitchen drains. Never hurts to check through Lowe's and/or ask at ACE Hardware. Normally, I end up solving it the cheapest way (-: and I'm not too lazy to do it. Prevention is the easiest...
some advice i can share is that the washing machine faucet can usually accomodate a garden hose so you may not have to go outside, but i will use the hot side and flush my drains just to keep the gook from building up
Replycoke can work sometimes but once it gets diluted its effectiveness is weakened, as a maintainence item for drains i use a degreaser and pour it down full strength and let it sit for a while
ReplyThis is an absolutely horrible recommendation. With over half our country reporting drought conditions, one should NEVER consider wasting 40 - 100 gallons of water to unclog a drain. It is irresponsible to even publish this article when we are in a water crisis locally, regionally, and globally. I hope the author considers the overall impact of these ridiculously frivilous recommendations.
ReplyI'm surprised nobody's mentioned this one yet.....works on most drains, but especially well for toilets. Try to use it before it's a complete stop-up, just getting sluggish. About 1/2 a bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid, poured into the toilet, allow to sit for at least an hour ( several hours is better), then just flush. It's an amazing solution, & really works!
ReplyThis is BAD NEWS for my next door neighbor the PLUMBER! He has shown me many tricks through the years. When he encounters an EASY CLOG at the home of a Senior Citizen or single mother he always shows them these tricks.
ReplyScott is a GREAT GUY!
Peace,
Frog
These solutions may work... but the problem may be worse than one may think... If you have cast iron pipes the pipes may have heavy build up and scale due to miss use... no amount of water or plunging will take care of this... you need to snake the line out, or the cast iron has rotted out again all you are going to do is over complicate the problem. if there is a plug you have to remove it before flushing it. We offer hydroflushing to completely clean your lines only after we have snaked it to make sure we can get through it and the water has some place to go. And don't flush your coffee filters and grounds down the toilet just because they are attached to bigger pipes, the opening on your toilet is just under two inches you can clog your toilet like this.
ReplyI am all for someone trying to save some money and fix a simple problem by themselves but know when to say when, more often than not people compound the problem by using hazardous chemicals (i.e.: acids, or lyes) that can hurt them or by using equipment that they have not been trained to use, I have seen pipes ruined by both and customers don't understand that a licensed PROFESSIONAL Plumber goes through months and years of training to properly install and maintain ones plumbing system upto the letter of the code set up by the country, state and municipality in order to protect the health of the nation. anybody who can not respect that you can go back to peeing in a pot and throw it outside and see how pleasant life was over 150 years ago.
Thank you soooo much for sharing what supposedly your neighbor told YOU.
ReplyI am a plumber and have been for the last 40 years and if you really want to distroy your floor,cieling and everything, than listen to this dumbass!!!!!!!!
ReplyMark I so agree with you. We are not allowed to comment on the important issues. To bad we can't all boycott AOL .
Reply