Jun 1st, 2008
Do It Yourself Drain Unclogging
During my recent ten day work stretch I noticed that the drain for my shower was becoming more and more clogged as the days went on. When I finally had a day off, I was able to unclog it in less than ten minutes without using an additive (think Liquid-Plumr). I realized at that point that many people who face similar situations may resort to these less-than-ideal additives (they’re toxic and it’s possible they’ll damage your pipes) or given up and called a plumber at their very high prices. So, given that, I thought I’d give a quick synopsis of my do it yourself drain unclogging efforts (remember, however, that as much as I’ve done things like this, I am not a professional handyman or plumber, so take all of this with a grain of salt):
Simple Prevention: Use a strainer of some kind over your drains! This is a very simple, incredibly low cost way to prevent lots and lots of clogs. A strainer can keep the vast majority of foreign matter from ever entering your drain. This alone is an investment that will pay for itself many, many times over.
A Plunger (and Maybe an Auger) are Your Friends: The good old fashioned plumber’s helper, the plunger, is your first line of attack when you have some kind of clog of your drain or toilet. These are ridiculously inexpensive (we even have them in the local 99 cent store) and can handle lots and lots of clogs. Using them is, of course, very self-explanatory: try to make a tight seal around the drain and plunge away.
Less well known is the toilet auger. This device looks a bit complicated, and is a bit bulky to store considering you won’t need it (hopefully!) very often. However, it is really easy to operate and a huge help if you have something stuck in the toilet that a plunger won’t push through. It’s essentially a rather short plumber’s snake with a handle at the end of it which you use to turn. Putting one of these into a toilet is a little unnerving but once it’s in there, a few turns will typically remove whatever is blocking your toilet up. You can find these between $10 and $20 pretty easily, but you will need to go to a hardware store.
Drain King: King Unclogger: This is my secret weapon for clogs (although I don’t think it’s usable in a toilet). It’s an inexpensive little piece of rubber and metal that attaches onto the end of a garden hose and is then placed in the drain that requires unclogging. Once the Drain King is inserted, the water is turned on, the rubber section expands to fill the drain pipe and forces a large amount of water pressure down the drain, which clears the material clogging the drain. I have never had this one fail. I learned about this tool from my late father, and it was one of the best handyman tips I ever got. The last time I got a Drain King (when I couldn’t find the one I already had), it was about $12.
So, there are my tips for dealing with clogged drains. Hopefully, careful use of these tips can prevent a clog from occurring or at least prevent a huge plumbing bill the next time you have a stuck drain!
Wow, never heard of drain king or the auger. I will have to look into them before the next time a drain gets clogged.
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[...] I’ve written briefly about the Drain King in the past. Basically, it’s a great alternative to potentially harmful (both to your pipes and the environment) Liquid Plumr which can handle far more difficult clogs than your typical plunger can. If you’ve got a clogged drain and you want to avoid calling the plumber, you may want to try this. [...]