Drain maintenance--slow plumbing drain.
 

My house is 40 yrs old and I'm on city sewer--galvanized and cast iron vent and drains. I have a couple of drains that are just slow. Plunging doesn't yield any good results. I got the master bath sink to clean up finally by copious plunging, but the tub will not plunge free. I think it suffers from a buildup of black slime like the sink did, but I can't maintain good suction with the plunger to get it to run freely.

What treatments can I run through the plumbing that will make sure it's clean. I'd like to keep the sink clean too instead of plunging it every month.

I haven't had any luck with chemicals.

I finally (this weekend) had to take the bathtub drain apart and rod it out (using a plumber's snake). This drain had buildup like you wouldn't believe! (It looked like those diagrams that show your arteries full of cholesterol :D ). I started at the trap and went all the way to the outside of the house.

Now it's good as new.

If there is a way to take the drain apart and snake it out that is what I would recommend.

K

My house was built in 40s and the plumbing can be a pain sometimes specially in the bathroom sink and tub. My wife, daughter, and one boy have long hair which is generally the root of the problem (ha ha get it "root"). I found the cheapest preventative maintenance item is a drain screen that sits in the drain and catches the hair. Now getting them to dump the screen in the trash, I can't help there!:D

Guys you might think I'm nuts but there is a drain unclogger called a drain king. You can buy them at most hardware stores. They go on the end of a garden hose and slip down the drain. When you turn on the garden hose the drain king swells and plugs up the end of the pipe. You can hear it "Hammering" as it unclogs the drain. One piece of advice. Ir you're trying to unclog a drain upstairs make sure it doesn't fill up your lower level with water. My house has PVC pipes and it has worked for me every time. Here is a link to what it looks like.

http://www.idealtruevalue.com/servlet/the-47027/Detail

Buy a pipe snake at Home Depot. Hard to beat mechanically cleaning a pipe.

Ditto. I have similar issues in my home (55 years old). Snake works well, have not had luck with chemicals.

Did you check to make certain the vent (s) are ok? Without proper venting, the drain will be very slow!

I wonder how you check the vents?

I used a pressure washer with a drain cleaning attachment. It cleans the pipe as in propels itself forward with the water pressure. Does a much better job of cleaning the drain versus a snake.

There's a device that I used to use in my old (85 yr old) house. It attaches to a garden hose and its a rubber bladder with a hole on the end of it. It slips into your pipe then you turn the water on. It swells up and creates a seal on your pipe while the water is pressured out the end into your pipe this will force out nearly anything that's blocking your drains.

I had great success with this on my floor drain in my basement.

My mom had the "Roto Rooter" guy try to unclog her kitchen sink a few years back. The day after he ran his snake thru the pipe (and $100 later!) the drain was just as slow as before.

Mom then poured some yeast down the drain, I think it was an old timer trick she remembered her mom doing. I guess the bacteria in the yeast will eat any sludge, grease etc. The next day the sink drains worked like new again & about every 6-12 months she'll run a little yeast down the pipes to help keep them clear. Worth a try anyway.

Assuming there was the proper amount of venting in the first place, go on the roof and look down with a high powered flashlight or snake your garden hose down the vent(s) to insure there are no obstructions.

That's what I mentioned in an earlier post, It works really. And it only costs around $20.

If you have some flow, you might try using "Mr. Microbe". It is suppose to eat the slime hanging on the sides of the pipes. I have used it before. It isn't a quick fix. I now use it for maintenance and it keeps the pipes clean. Good Luck.


Murf

P.S., It is available at most hardware stores, at least around here.

Doh! I should have read a bit closer!

Also, after you get your drains clear, if you pour a few cups of bleach down the drain @ once a month or so, it'll help keep any more build up from forming.

Try vinegar
 

Just had the same situation. The plumber charged $100.00 to snake out the bath tub drain. Withing a week it was slow again. Took his advice to keep it clean. Use a gallon of vinegar. Vinegar will desolve the soap build up. Poured 1/2 gallon down the tub vent and 1/2 gallon down the drain. Wait one hour and run the hot water to flush out the soap. It still ran slow. The next week I did the same using bleach. Don't know why but the bleach caused some nasty chemical reaction. The drain started started bubbling and the smell was nasty. Ran hot water down the tub vent and drain to clean out that mess and now the tub drains with no problem.

Just to add to this, you should NOT use bleach in a septic system.

Check this. This morning I got sick of the water backing up while I was showering, so I grabbed the plunger and went at it. This time I could feel the water in the drain 'working' back and forth with the plunger--and it burped nicely followed by fast draining water again. I guess it's clogged with my wife's long hair--and my rapidly receding hair. :rolleyes:

Good point. I didn't take that into consideration.

You naked in the shower going at it with a toilet plunger is a mental image I did not need to see. :eek: :eek: