Unclogging drains?

[blisstwins]

We have a small rental building and I cannot even speak about the insane amounts we pay every time there is a clogged sink. Seriously, the plumber charges $600-$800 a visit. Does anyone have any idea how to learn to snake a sink? Are there any at-home products you can recommend? I saw one, but it requires a garden hose and we are in the city. I appreciate any advice greatly.

[ThreeofUs]

Snaking a drain is pretty easy. I've always done it myself. You'll need an electric drill, a good-quality snake, a bucket, old towels, and some plumbing tools (wrenches, plumbers tape).

Here's what I do:
1. Find the drain closest to the clog.
2. Turn off the water to the tap to that drain. (So, to the sink or shower or tub. Generally, I try not to use a toilet.)
3. Take off the trap under or in back of the drain. Make sure you have the bucket under it, probably with some towels under.
4. Attach snake to drill, and start feeding snake into the pipe manually. This is just pulling the snake out of its cover and feeding it into the pipe.
5. After you get a few feet in, start the drill on low (it will spin the snake and feed it at the same time). Keep a hand on the snake (I wear gloves) to keep it feeding in and to "feel" what it's doing.
6. As the snake feeds in, modulate the drill speed to deal with whatever feedback you get from feeling. Clear drain will feel different than a curve or a clog. If the snake gets stuck, decrease drill speed and move the drill around to try to get the snake to move or turn drill on reverse and then forward again. (Sometimes this can take FOREVER, but you just have to keep at it.)

You should feel it when you hit the clog. Reverse and forward a few times through it, then start bringing the snake back.

7. Reassemble trap. Turn on water and make sure nothing is leaking - I put an old phone book under the trap so I can clearly see any water drips. If you've got a leak, get out the plumbers tape, wrap the pipe threads, and try again.

Here's a tip: as the snake comes back, rinse it off over your bucket and take out any solids that come with it. Make sure it goes easily and compactly back into its container. If you don't (like my DH), you end up with a snake that's too gross to use. :)

[blisstwins]

Wow. Thank you for these detailed and helpful directions. I am going to have to learn basics like what a trap is, but I am generally handy and will use the internet to figure it out. I will stop by Home Depot for a snake today. I have a drill and the other tools already. If I can learn to do this I will save a few thousand dollars a year--big incentive.

[ThreeofUs]

I got a book on basic plumbing at HD. They have one that has a lot of great pictures. It really helps to see and understand the basics before you start.

The trap is the U bend in the drain pipe from a sink, etc. It holds water so that the sewer smells don't come back up your drain. Some call it a P trap, and if you google "p trap" you'll get a lot of great resources.

GL!

[deannanb]

go to youtube -
look for snake sink or snaking sink

(you will get pictures of actual snakes in sinks too)

[SASM]

We've actually had a quite a bit of luck with lots of boiling water. Just dump it in, wait for it to go down, and then do it several more times.

[justlearning]

This isn't a pleasant job but when my bathroom sink gets clogged, I use this product called "zip it" from the clean team: http://www.thecleanteam.com/catalog_f.cfm

With it, I'm able to get lots of gunk and hair pulled out around the sink drain (without removing it) and the water always then drains perfectly afterwards. Personally, I wouldn't want to do this with renter's hair but maybe it'd be something that you could give them (for $2.95) and they might be able to unclog the drain themselves that way.

BTW, this wouldn't work for major drain clogs, I wouldn't think, but it's always worked for me when the water just takes a really long time to drain.

[cmo]

We've had success with a product called Kleer Drain. It uses a plunger-type handled unit and a cartridge that forms an airtight seal and forces air through the plumbing to clear the pipes. It can be used on toilets and sink/shower type drains. Definitely use the splash guard that is part of the package! I bought it at Lowe's. www.kleerdrain.com

[blisstwins]

Just wanted to update that we used "Zip it" as a first measure and it worked amazigly. Seriously, it was gross, but the sink is perfect. DH also looked at the snakes and we will try that if necessary, but this is a great product that really helped us. Thanks so much!

[nupe]

It's available at lowe's and it's less than five dollars. You can use one on multiple drains. It even pulled up builder debris from one drain!