Will liquid fire drain cleaner remove almost any clog?
Question:We have a slow running almost totaly cloged sink drain. No we have not droped anythining in the drain. It is in the kitchen. NO kids so nothing has been stuffed in the drain eaither. Any advice?
Answers:
FUnny that nothing was said about "grease"
Yet the answerers insist that must be what you poured into the drain!?
If you have a Disposal unit or not, every kitchen drain will eventually fill up with decayed food debris, the same as if you allowed all the water to sit in the sink for days.
That same sticky goo builds up inside the drain pipes a little at a time, and decays to a black stinky sludge, about the same consistency as pudding.
Most often, with no disposal, the drain will go 20+years, up to 50years without plugging.
When used with regularity, the disposal will add SO MUCH more ground up food debris to the drain, they rarely stay clear longer than 2-8years.
If you have Steel pipes, the "liquid fire" - > (Probably sulfuric acid) drain cleaner will eat / dissolve some of the sludge, and eat at the pipes as well.
If it's all plastic piping, (think 30year old house or younger) it won't affect the pipes. Keep in mind, however, that if the drain has gotten slowly worse bit by bit... it clearly indicates that the line has been filling up, closing off from the Gunk.
If it happened suddenly, it indicates something that just recently stopped up the line. IE. solid food or liquid animal fat.
TWo things that affect a drain line the same..
CONCRETE and animal fat, (Grease)
when you add water, they both turn solid and hard. Seriously!
The drain cleaner chemical MAY dissolve some of the fat, but your best bet is to send something through the same line to break up the solids and allow them to flow downstream.
IE. drain cleaning snake or power-jet cleaner.
Often you can call around and get some pricing from local plumbing/drain cleaning companies to quote a basic price to snake out a drain, and compare them. usually in this area, between $155 and up. If you want to try doing it yourself, there are rental MACHINES you can get that will do as well. Just keep in mind that they can be hazardous if not handled correctly. And that you do NOT want to be trying this after pouring a toxic chemical through the pipes that may dissolve YOU>!
ONE last thing to consider...
If the liquid works its way through the drain piping, dissolving as it goes, it either keeps to the bottom of the pipe, and works until it is no longer has any chemical effectiveness, thereby leaving the worst of the clog at the furthest reach of the line. OR it eats through to the main drain, allowing you a respite for about a year, until the buildup slows it down to this point again.
Good luck with your endeavor...
Bruce
It sounds like it's grease clogging it up if it's in the kitchen, but there is no telling with kitchen sinks.
I would prefer to pull the trap underneath and make sure it is clear, then, use a hand auger to run as far as I could into the line.
If this doesn't clear the line, then I would use the liquid fire.
I can't emphasize too much the dangers of using it, but when done according to directions, it will do the job.
I've used it before and it does work. Again, SAFETY FIRST!
yes its grease,use a plunger first,the back motion is your power stroke to free said drain.,remember to use wet towel to cover other drain hole.
I have to disagree with Bruce, when he says that liquid drain cleaners won't hurt plastic pipes. I have tunneled under more houses than I can remember, to repair a pipe that burst from using liquid drain cleaners. You have grease, and you need a professional to snake the line clear. Good luck!
Ma'am,
Call a plumber or rooter guy out. Rooter guys are usually cheaper.
Their equipment is so much better than the rental machine you probably went and got.
I'm always having people tell me they ran a snake down the drain. But when they see my machine, they understand why their little 1/4" hand twist 'snake' couldn't do the job.
It'll probably cost you 60 bucks, but it's worth it.
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