why me primitive inquires about drain cleaners

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=287x7432

Oh my.

Word about Skins's island gets around.

yy4me  (1000+ posts)        Wed Feb-11-09 08:01 PM
Original message
 
I happened to tell a friend I was on DU asking about my shower head problem when she mentioned a drain problem she is having. A while ago, someone here suggested a drain cleaner that professionals use and all swore by it. Not Drano or Liq Plumber. I searched for the thread and cannot find it. The advice was all good, I'd like to sent it along to her. Anyone remember what the name of the stuff was? Available at Lowe's, HD etc.

Wash. state Desk Jet  (1000+ posts)      Wed Feb-11-09 11:22 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. Drain care.

Drain care Hair Clog Remover is for bathroom sinks and bath tubs. Those are the areas of the house plumbing system where hair and all other kind of debris accumulate and form blockage pockets. Draino or liquid plumber will not dissolve hair clogs.

Hair Clog remover is also good for washing machine sinks or drain lines because of what comes out in the wash, such as your hair,dog hair.

A little draino is OK for kitchen sinks. A good plunger with that helps more. What they call power plungers,not those rubber thingee's.

The power plungers cost about ten bucks hm depot or lowe's ,hardware store.

A twenty five foot snake is only about twenty five bucks, Got a good drill ?

Drain Care also makes a product for kitchen sinks.

You can talk to most and good salesperson in the plumbing dept. about that.
Drain Care hair clog remover comes in a red bottle with black lettering what says, Hair Clog remover ! Even when you use a snake, the snake can just polk through the hair clog creating drainage, but, the hair clog can seal itself back up later,after the plumber leaves. Hair clog remover breaks it down and moves it down the pipes into the city drain.

Robb   (1000+ posts)        Thu Feb-12-09 10:01 AM
Response to Original message
 
2. Closet auger.

Among the top three tools I've ever purchased.

Oh man, the robbing primitive must take some big dumps, if a toilet auger is one of his top three tools.

Either that, or the robbing primitive is the sparkling husband primitive's son.

Wash. state Desk Jet  (1000+ posts)      Thu Feb-12-09 01:06 PM
Response to Reply #2
 
3. That's a toilet snake Rob ! 

Not the kind of snake you will want to use on a kitchen sink or bath sink.

For about the same amount of money you paid for that toilet auger ,you can buy a 30 foot roto snake that attach's to your homeowner drill. And that's how you snake those 1 1/2 or 2 inch lines out with all the 45, 90 degree angles or bends in there.

The diameter of that auger is more for 3 1/2 inch to 5 or six inch pipe, your main drain line. Take a look at aa roto snake ,the kind that attach's to your drill, about 35 bucks,or what you paid for that auger.

Roto Rooter plumbers use the roto snake what attach's to yer drill for under the sink entry where a clean out access is not there.

I have a 100 ft. electric,a 50 ft electric snake and the drill drive ,several augers of different types .It just depends on what part of the plumbing you are going into ,you use the right tool for the job.

In older plumbing for example you must think about a thing called pipe bursts ,sometimes caused by back pressure/disturbance, in short, you really don't want to break any pipe.

And than there is a thing called loosing yer snake, that happens or can happen when you go in with the wrong diameter snake. If you doubt me, find out about that at any plum,bing supply store,. There is always a plumber there to provide a consult. Have you ever heard any stories from plumbers loosing snakes in the drain line? I have, that's why I bought those snakes. That and the rental fees.

And by way, if you really like tools, a very cool place to visit is your local tool rental store. That will give you a real first hand visual of goings on in commercial and residential scale projects.Need a jack hammer Eh ? !

The right tool for the job., thats what it's all about. That and understanding what you are doing. It is always better to know ,than it is to think that you know.

Robb   (1000+ posts)        Thu Feb-12-09 01:09 PM
Response to Reply #3
 
4. Well, yes it is.

I guess I missed where she said what was clogging.

FWIW, I've used roto snakes quite a bit. Tip: bring along a three-foot piece of PVC with you, go through that before the drain you're working on, and go home cleaner.

Wash. state Desk Jet  (1000+ posts)      Thu Feb-12-09 01:19 PM
Response to Reply #4
 
5. Now that's a tip ~!

Great idea when you are going in under the sink . And down in through the toilet flange,keeps the gunk off the floor too, I am sure that is far better than newspaper and plastic ! Thanks, good one !

Robb   (1000+ posts)        Thu Feb-12-09 01:57 PM
Response to Reply #5
 
6. You bet.

Got it from dad. Best of all, when you do it, it makes you feel really, really smart.

Wash. state Desk Jet  (1000+ posts)      Thu Feb-12-09 02:17 PM
Response to Reply #6
 
7. I learned a lot from dads and grand dads over the years ! It's amazing the things they know and keep in their heads. You show them you know something and have the sticktooitness it takes, hence a no quitter, And they will show you something you can add and keep. Simply, nobody knows everything.

And I'll tell you something else, the so called stereo typical house wife will amaze you with a wealth of ideas and knowledge about things ! They seem to just happen to have these tools on hand you just happen to need at the time !

We learn something new every day ! And if you know that, that's what really smart is !

[RobJohnson]

I need a toliet auger to get through most of the threads at DU.

[LC EFA]

As far as I know, the active ingredient in most chemical drain cleaning products is NaOH - Sodium Hydroxide - Caustic Soda - Lye etc.  I've looked at the ones in the hardware store here and the only real difference between the ones labeled "professional" and ones labeled "household" is the concentration.

Some of them may have some form of stabilizer or maybe a catalyst or some other form of "inactive" secondary ingredients that are intended to help the process along in some way.

This is similar to the products for mildew removal. They're primarily a Sodium Hypochlorite solution providing active chlorine. Some may also include a surfactant, or other secondary chemical to assist the job.

For me, I get granular Sodium Hydroxide in a 4lb container, and granular pool chlorine also in a 4lb container (the pool chlorine contains a range of other things like algicides and fungacides into the bargin). This is far cheaper in the long run and one can tweak the concentrations of the end product well but one must be careful of how they're used and the concentrations in which they're used to avoid injury or damage to what you are cleaning.