# clogged drains



## slidin' spice (Mar 22, 2009)

Hello
We are having drain issues in one of our upstairs bathrooms. I think the main issue is that we are on scummy, iron well water and don't have a house filter system yet. I am looking for advice on any at home magical potions I might be able to make to break up the clogs instead of commercial cleaners.

Thank you
Julie


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

baking soda. let sit for about 15 mins. pour vinegar down the drain. let sit a while. pour boiling water down the drain. repeat several times if clog is bad.


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## cow whisperer (May 3, 2007)

Ninn said:


> baking soda. let sit for about 15 mins. pour vinegar down the drain. let sit a while. pour boiling water down the drain. repeat several times if clog is bad.


I 2nd this advise...

I keep all my drains clear by doing this once a month or two...


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## KatSpradley (Nov 7, 2008)

I third...boiling water will often do the trick itself; however, to start do the baking soda and vinegar. Have a lot of boiling water ready to flush those pipes. We do this about every six months and it keeps our drains running smooth.


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## slidin' spice (Mar 22, 2009)

Great! Thank you for the advice, I'm off to try it right now.


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## saremca (Jun 19, 2008)

I usually use the baking soda/vinegar/boiling water trick first. If that doesn't work you might have to take off the trap and clean out whatever is in there. Lowe's website has a pretty good tutorial on it.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/ClrDrains.html


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## Woodpecker (Mar 8, 2007)

Im going to do this today, my sink is clogged.


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## Woodpecker (Mar 8, 2007)

I just did the vinger and baking soda and boiling water. I also took a wire coat hanger to get all the black goop i could reach out. It helped but it is still some what clogged any other ideas? tyia


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Dreamy said:


> I just did the vinger and baking soda and boiling water. I also took a wire coat hanger to get all the black goop i could reach out. It helped but it is still some what clogged any other ideas? tyia


Do it again. If there's a lot of crud in there, you might have to do it several times. I had to do it twice on my drain to get it open, then again a day later because it closed up again. Now I do it monthly to keep it from building up.


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## Woodpecker (Mar 8, 2007)

Spinner said:


> Do it again. If there's a lot of crud in there, you might have to do it several times. I had to do it twice on my drain to get it open, then again a day later because it closed up again. Now I do it monthly to keep it from building up.


Im going to do that, when I have the time. I think it did close agian because after I did it it was better. Thanks for the advice.:bow:


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

Try sitting a little bit of yeast in there. It will feed on some of the bacteria in the pipe and break up the clog. let it sit over night, then pour boiling water down the drain. 

Cleaning the trap itself sounds like your best bet. If you look under the sink, there should be a spot where the straight down drain pipe meets the curvy drain pipe and looks like it's wearing a bracelet. That bracelet is a nut. Put a bucket under there and turn the nut until it easily moves off the threads. Follow the curvy part of the pipe and you'll find another one. Repeat removal of nut-OVER BUCKET! Dump the water out, then clean the inside of that curvy pipe with a bottle brush and some serious cleansers. Rinse well and put it back. You might want to put some plumbers tape on the threads of the joints, just to be sure they are water tight. After that, do the vinegar trick once a week and be absolutely certain that NOBODY puts a plate in the sink with food still on it and NOBODY dumps vegetable oil down the drain. Should be the end of the problem after that.


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## Woodpecker (Mar 8, 2007)

Ninn said:


> Try sitting a little bit of yeast in there. It will feed on some of the bacteria in the pipe and break up the clog. let it sit over night, then pour boiling water down the drain.
> 
> Cleaning the trap itself sounds like your best bet. If you look under the sink, there should be a spot where the straight down drain pipe meets the curvy drain pipe and looks like it's wearing a bracelet. That bracelet is a nut. Put a bucket under there and turn the nut until it easily moves off the threads. Follow the curvy part of the pipe and you'll find another one. Repeat removal of nut-OVER BUCKET! Dump the water out, then clean the inside of that curvy pipe with a bottle brush and some serious cleansers. Rinse well and put it back. You might want to put some plumbers tape on the threads of the joints, just to be sure they are water tight. After that, do the vinegar trick once a week and be absolutely certain that NOBODY puts a plate in the sink with food still on it and NOBODY dumps vegetable oil down the drain. Should be the end of the problem after that.


Thanks Ill have to see if I can do this this weekend. Its the bathroom sink that is clogged so Im guessing its hair and soap thats stuck.


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