Unclogging drains - without chemicals?

[BasicLiving]

Anyone have some natural way to unclog drains? My husband has hair - LOTS of hair. Between a beard that reaches his belly and head hair just as long, the bathroom sink doesn't stand a chance. I use a plunger and it clears it pretty good, but still drains slow and then clogs up again rather quickly. Is there a non-chemical way to take care of this? I dumped some vinegar down the drain tonight after I plunged it, thinking it would help with the soap that likely builds up around the hair, but I'm not sure if this will do the trick. Any ideas?

[kitaye]

A drain snake to clear the current clog and a drain screen to catch the air before it gets into the drain.

[morrowsmowers]

A good plunger is your first tool. A small hand snake or even a power snake would be another good tool. You may need to take the U bend off of the trap every so often and clean it out really well. You can remove the pop up drain assembly from the sink and install a drain that is just a plate with a series of small drain holes in it. They make a replacement for the U bend of the trap that is clear and has a plastic screen to catch stuff to be removed. It has a portion of the trap that can be opened regularly for cleaning. We tried these on 2 sinks and they leaked in both applications but that may have been just our experience. Before putting the vinegar down the pipes dump some baking soda into the drain and either push it down or use a little water to get it into the pipes. Then add the vinegar and let the fizzing help break up those drain nasties.

Ken in Glassboro, NJ

[motivated]

I have heard of pouring 1 cup of vinegar and a 1/2 cup of baking soda. ( It will fizz up). Let stand for 30 minutes and flush with hot water.
motivated

[BasicLiving]

Baking soda!!! I knew I was missing something. I'll try the baking soda with vinegar. And we have a snake. Messy business - but we use it when all else fails!

Thanks!
Penny

[BellsBunnies]

Originally Posted by motivated

I have heard of pouring 1 cup of vinegar and a 1/2 cup of baking soda. ( It will fizz up). Let stand for 30 minutes and flush with hot water.
motivated

This has worked for us.

[mtman]

maybee your not getting it all take the trap off only takes a min.

[Cabin Fever]

For hair, this $2 gizmo works great. Read about it here: http://www.zipitclean.com

[amelia]

I've had good luck with a product called the ClogBuster. It's a 6"-long rubber apparatus that you attach to to the end of a garden hose, then insert into the drain. When the faucet to which the hose is attached is turned on, the water pressure causes it to expand and to project high-pressure pulses of water downward. As far as I can recall, the thing didn't cost more than $5 or $10.00. Saw it on the internet at one time.

[Jillis]

My ex, who is a plumber, found out that Cola will open a clogged drain.

There ought to be a warning label on that stuff!

[jnap31]

DW just told me yesterday that the two older girls aged 12 at the house have been using to much TP, I could not believe that all the TP I bought a year ago is gone I had a whole wall of our middle room covered. Anyway she has talked to them but they used to much again and clogged the toilet, They will be using the outdoors now. It is so much simpler when you have an out house or composting system and dont have to worry about clogged drains.

[fixer1958]

I use a shop vac on the sinks and tub drains. There are 2 long haired woman here that seem to shed regularly. Works very well. Be prepared for what comes out.
The main drain in the basement plugged up a few weeks ago and flooded the basement. I rented a power auger and snatched out a gob of hair as big as my fist. When my kids were little and used a half a roll of TP at a time it did the same thing. Since then (15 yrs) no TP goes in the toilet. It goes in the trash. Not as gross as it seems. I haven't had any septic problems since then either.

[shelljo]

I have the zip it--picture posted above.

It's wonderful. It grabs onto that hair and pulls it back up the drain, then you toss it. You'd be amazed by the amount of hair that goes down the drain.

[halfpint]

Originally Posted by shelljo

I have the zip it--picture posted above.

It's wonderful. It grabs onto that hair and pulls it back up the drain, then you toss it. You'd be amazed by the amount of hair that goes down the drain.

I have one also and it's great. Usually when one drain clogs up, we go around and empty the others and most are close to being clogged.

Dawn

[triana1326]

Originally Posted by Jillis

My ex, who is a plumber, found out that Cola will open a clogged drain.

There ought to be a warning label on that stuff!

It also takes corrosion off a car battery and cleans the road grease off the windshield. I carry a bottle in my emergency kit in my trunk...You can also use it to descale and clean your toilet. No wonder I don't drink the stuff!!!

[labrat]

I use this. . .It works great

Drain Opener
- Prevent clogging by using drain strainer.
- Pour 1/2 cup washing soda into drain followed by 2 cups boiling water.
- Flush drain weekly with boiling water for prevention.
- Pour 1/4 cup baking soda down the drain. Follow with 1/2 cup vinegar and cover drain tightly until finished fizzing. Flush with one gallon boiling water.

http://www.frugalfun.com/cleansers.html

[Paul Wheaton]

Hmmmmmm ..... makes me think of the diet coke and mentos stuff ....

Would hydrogen peroxide do somethng to the hair and leave the pipes alone?

Would the soda pop eat the pipes?

[labrat]

Most H2O2 that is available on the open market (the stuff you get at the pharmacy) is only 3% in strength; I'm not sure about the stuff you get at the hair and beuty supply stores, but the 3% will not do anything for the hair clogs.

[Marilyn]

Gosh Basic Living, is there any chance that he would consider a haircut and serious bear trimming?

[Jillis]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

Gosh Basic Living, is there any chance that he would consider a haircut and serious bear trimming?

I think any kind of "bear trimming" would be serious! :baby04: