How do you keep your sink drains clean?

[atgcpaul]

I replaced the faucet and drain tail pipe in the powder room this morning. Working under a pedestal sink was a PITA, BTW. Anyway, I almost ralphed when I disassembled the P-trap. Some kind of thick gray goo inside. I rinsed it out in the kitchen sink and wiped the inside clean with my finger. Yummy. I'm sure that trap had not been apart so it was installed almost 20 years ago. It was pretty amazing considering this is a low use powder room. I'm worried for what's waiting for me in the kitchen sink and higher traffic sinks.

This sink didn't drain slowly but do you guys periodically pour draino down there as preventative maintenance to keep them clean or something else?

[cwsmith]

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...rain-unclogger

Baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water. Seriously, it works. Not perfectly clean, but clean enough to keep you from losing your lunch under the sink... My wife's sink jams up pretty regularly with gunk that looks like that gray goo you guys are talking about, combined with spots of what I think are her makeup base... Just nasty stuff.

My wife did that years ago. Not sure what happened, as to whether it was old baking soda or perhaps mistakenly baking powder, or maybe not enough vinegar.... but what we ended up with was a sink drain that felt like you had poured plaster down it. I snaked the trap but that was somewhat clear. Pulled it apart and pushed the snake further until it hit a stone wall.... move the snake back and forth and it would just cluck against something solid. Ended up pulling that section of pipe all the way into the basement ceiling. Sure enough, there was this rather solid chuck of dirty whitish crapp. Took the end of a steel rod to smack it apart.

I use drain cleaner on occasion for maintenance (yeah, I know) and on those rare occasions when we have a clog, I'll use a quick suction from the shop vac. (You don't want to do that too long or you might suck back more than you bargained for.) Beyond that, I'll just call Steve, the plumber; he's a great guy! (I absolutely hate plumbing on almost every level!)

CWS

[Tom Slick]

Zip it works great

[capncarl]

There is a lot of stuff I'd rather do than work on drains. I agree with doing the minimum necessary by using the zip it thing, but nearly every time I crawl under the sink to work on something I find another potential problem that would show its ugly face sooner or later. Last time I found the nuts on the p trap and its piping finger tight, just waiting to leak, another time a shut off valve had a slow leak. So it may be better to crawl under the sink and remove the p trap and give everything a good shake!

[Two Much]

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...rain-unclogger

Baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water. Seriously, it works. Not perfectly clean, but clean enough to keep you from losing your lunch under the sink... My wife's sink jams up pretty regularly with gunk that looks like that gray goo you guys are talking about, combined with spots of what I think are her makeup base... Just nasty stuff.

That's how we do our drains, about twice a month.

[gerti]

I'll give another vote for the "Zip-it" thing from Home Depot.

Same here. That thing works! No more hurting your back and fighting with the pipes, making a mess etc. A few seconds with that thing is all it takes. Still gross, but over with quickly.

[os1kne]

I'll give another vote for the "Zip-it" thing from Home Depot. I've had one for 5 years or so, and used it enough times that it's about time for a new one. The hair from my wife and 2 daughters causes clogs / slow drains. When the drain starts going slow, I slide the zip-it in and usually pull out a rat of hair (particularly good for tub drains, where you can't get to the p-trap.)

[atgcpaul]

The sink in our kids' bathroom was draining VERY slowly. My younger daughter and I decided to tackle it this morning. Note to self, don't eat a big breakfast before taking out the P-trap. Barf. There was a big clump of hair and and rank sludge in there. I used a piece of scrap wood to push it all through. Free flowing now, but yuck!

[sailor55330]

I agree the hair/makeup/scum is nasty, but nothing compared to what my wife did. She put about 4 cups of cooked rice down the disposal and didn't flush it long enough. Sure enough it formed a solid wall about 40 ft into the pipe and then backed up. Luckily my basement isn't finished so I could get at it. I couldn't find a power auger long enough so I had to cut the drain pipe to get at the clog. It had solidified to the point that I could "tap" the pipe much as you tap to find a stud. It took a hammer and a large screwdriver to "chip" the blockage away, all while having it "rain" drainage back up on on me.

I didn't say much but made her watch. To this day, she won't put anything down the disposal without asking me to do it first---even though I didn'tmake that rule.

[atgcpaul]

changing doggy diapers... Old Yorkie.

I had to read that twice!

I would estimate that sink had about a 25% blockage. I didn't even notice that in normal operation with the water running at full blast.

BTW, I found water leaking out of the hot water side. I wasn't able to tighten the nut onto the bottom of the faucet sufficiently (my friend is lending me her basin wrench tomorrow) so I turned the shut off knob to off (there's got to be a better way to say that) this morning. That only made it worse which I didn't find out until tonight. Luckily I had a spare 1/4 turn shut off valve which I swapped in (notice the time, I did it about 10 minutes before HD closed so I would have been SOL if it didn't work). I was also able to get a better wrench on the connection to the faucet and all looks water tight now. I added a bunch of those 1/4 valves to my Amazon cart, too. When I replace the kitchen sink, I'll be swapping those in.

[JimD]

My wife likes using that plastic barb thing. She also uses some kind of vinegar mix that works sometimes. I just pull the P-trap. It isn't my most favorite thing but neither is changing doggy diapers... Old Yorkie. Being an adult means doing some things that aren't your favorite.

[eccentrictinkerer]

Please don't use Drano or any chemical! My dad, a plumber for 50 years told me that it doesn't, can't and won't work. The clog most often occurs somewhere in the line other than the trap where the chemical collects.

The 'stuff' in the drain is soap scum, hair and dead skin cells. Gross looking, but pretty benign.

I retired from engineering 15 years ago and started a handyman business. People pay me, a 69 year old fart, $45/hour to clear their drains.

If they've used chemicals I charge extra.

Use a piece of clotheshanger wire with a 1/4" bend at the end. Stick it in the drain and rotate it it few times. Usually, a knot of aforementioned soap scum, and hair will snag on the wire. Have some newspapers handy to lay this new 'rat' on, roll it up and have an adult beverage to calm down.

[dbhost]

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...rain-unclogger

Baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water. Seriously, it works. Not perfectly clean, but clean enough to keep you from losing your lunch under the sink... My wife's sink jams up pretty regularly with gunk that looks like that gray goo you guys are talking about, combined with spots of what I think are her makeup base... Just nasty stuff.

[twistsol]

I tell my wife that the hairry sink drain needs a cleaning. I can't do it,grosses me out. Plus those aren't my 12 inch long hairs in there!

You are either a brave or foolish man.


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[Condoman44]

I have the same issues with drains and encourage people to never put chemicals down the drain. The person that takes the trap off has to be very careful when when on their back and removing drain parts. Hot water is all I recommend. It is better both for me and the septic system.