Best Drain Cleaner

Go ahead take day off from work,spend 40 or 50 bucks on junk then call a drain cleaning professional after hours since you spent all day monkeying with it and he can clean the original blockage plus what you have put in it ! Lol

I have finally found a drain cleaner thats worth a damn.

I am not a regular user, im a fan of using the snake. But last week i came across 2 urinals that had so much calcium build up and scale in the traps that my snake couldnt bust it up on its own.

I tried this chemical cleaner called Liquid Lightning. While it didnt solve the problem on its own, it made the scale and build up brittle enough that i could penetrate it with the snake and get it clear. Kind of like a tag team effect and it didnt harm the porcelain.

Matt30 said:

I have finally found a drain cleaner thats worth a damn. I am not a regular user, im a fan of using the snake. But last week i came across 2 urinals that had so much calcium build up and scale in the traps that my snake couldnt bust it up on its own. I tried this chemical cleaner called Liquid Lightning. While it didnt solve the problem on its own, it made the scale and build up brittle enough that i could penetrate it with the snake and get it clear. Kind of like a tag team effect and it didnt harm the porcelain.

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Hey! Good to know, I'll have to write down the name. We use a product called 'Scoot' and it's pretty effective much in the same way

I've used javelin's urinal drain cleaner for the same effect matt. It definitely works. Good to know

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41+c4k5nkdL.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MWWEDM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I had a reoccurring back up that no harsh chemical would fix. I eventually had a plumber come and it would up being my trap leaving the house. he used this to clean the main line to the street anyway. I later had another back up from under the concrete so I bought this rather than call the $300 plumber. I could not be more satisfied. It hooked right up to my Homelite power washer i bought this year from HD and I was able to get from any vent to the trap. Definitely a 2 person job (my wife pulled the trigger while i managed the snake) the high pressure jets shoot backwards at a 45 degree angle which self propels the nozzle. Only thing you have to do is feed the hose and play around with it to get it to make the turns. I had one 90 turn a few feet into the vent then the rest was easy. Definitely recommend this product for clogs and general maintenance.

Ok, here is the skinny from someone with knowledge of chemicals. (I have degrees in Chemical Engineering and Molecular Biology)
Lye is the old standby drain cleaner. It breaks down grease and hair. It works but is slow. Most drain cleaners on the market now have added chlorine bleach with the Lye and most also have a gelling agent to make them cling to pipes for better effect.
From chemistry side of things, Lye does not hurt pipes. Both cast iron and PVC are not affected by Lye. Might be corrosive to copper but very few houses have copper/brass drain pipes.
The Chlorine in the bleach mixtures could be thought of as corrosive to cast iron but no more than salt water would be.
Yes, if you don't handle these chemicals with care, they can be dangerous but if handled correctly, they will dissolve hair and grease clogs without harming the pipes.
The enzymatic cleaners should work as well but they take days or weeks (or months?) to work. I actually tried to find a "good" enzymatic a while back but couldn't. What I found was that most of them are snake oil, containing little to no actual enzymes.

As far as using sulfuric acid goes, that could be dangerous. I would never use is to clear a drain.

I mix vinegar and baking soda when cleaning the drain. I do it on a regular basis to avoid experiencing worse problems in the future. So far, it works. I avoid the use of chemicals drain cleaners too.

When you must use a drain cleaner, we recommend a Non Acid Drain Opener. See the dry chemical you mix with hot water that works to dissolve grease, hair, and other organic materials.

I'd have to agree with the general consensus here, go to the hardware store and buy a snake, you can even get cheap plastic hair pullers that work wonders for some cases.

Such as this (Picture)

Most household drains are composed of PVCs. When harsh chemicals are used as in cleaning the drainage it produces heat that can soften the pipes. Vinegar and baking soda works just as effective as this chemicals it does not only dislodged foods in the crevice but it also deodorized the foul smell that is of an issue when it comes to drains.

I’m dealing with a severe kitchen drain blockage, in my own home. The iron drain pipe (2") is on an exterior kitchen wall, and very hard to reach under the sink. This current very cold weather keeps the pipe much colder. The blockage seems to have moved about 6 feet down the pipe. I’m continuing repeated very hot water treatments, heated on my wood stove, to push or hopefully dissolve it. I did break through it by a drain snake, but not enough to fully clear it. Now it is very slow.

Are there any other specific drain cleaner, auger tip or method recommendations? Many thanks and Happy New Year!

Sounds like having the line professionally cleaned with a hydro jetter is your best option

chiraldude said:

Might be corrosive to copper but very few houses have copper/brass drain pipes.
.

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Most consumers using liquid cleaners don't know what type of drain pipes they have. There are a lot of systems that are old DWV copper and old rotten cast iron.

timixon said:

Most household drains are composed of PVCs.

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maybe in your neighborhood. Here in southern California plastic drains systems are ABS. Older homes are DWV copper and cast iron.

Chemicals like sulfuric acid can generate a lot of heat that can distort plastic pipe if not used properly. they'll take the finish off your fixture as well.

NEVER use them in a drain that is 100% blocked.

When using an enzyme cleaner you have to use them on a regular maintenance schedule. Like taking antibiotics for an infection. You just can't take a couple pills and call it good. They consume organic material slowly.

Just about every plumber you ask about chemical drain cleaners, most will tell you not to use them. They sell a lot of that crap and it does work SOMETIMES. but it's usually just a temporary solution.


I get this a lot. I don't really put anything down my disposal. But every time you rinse off a dinner plate, oil and organic material get rinsed down the drain.
Eventually sticking to and coating the inside of the pipe.
using the disposal in moderation is like eating plenty of fiber in your diet.
It helps scour the pipe clean. better done on Plastic systems.
Cast Iron is another thing. It has a tendency to form very hard deposits on the inside.

Even after cleaning with a snake and having to cut that section out, only a small 1" opening was mad with the snake.

Thanks Matt30 and Mr_David! I appreciate your excellent advice and concern.

After a full day of near boiling water added every hour from my wood stove, with only minimal improvement, I just added Pequa for a 3 hour soak. Then afterward tonite, another hot water flush. If there is no significant improvement, tomorrow morning, I'll again fully disassemble and take your fine advice. Thanks again!

RetiredCarGuy said:

Thanks Matt30 and Mr_David! I appreciate your excellent advice and concern.

After a full day of near boiling water added every hour from my wood stove, with only minimal improvement, I just added Pequa for a 3 hour soak. Then afterward tonite, another hot water flush. If there is no significant improvement, tomorrow morning, I'll again fully disassemble and take your fine advice. Thanks again!

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Please tell us this was a joke post to jab at Mr_David for warning you not to do it...If not, haz mat precautions will have to be taken by anyone going near the drain.

FWIW My plumber of over 30 years recently gave me a tip. He said if I pour 1 gallon per month of common distilled white vinegar (5% acid) down my tub drain, I will never get tree roots in my main sewer line again. To start he had me do one gallon per week for 4 weeks, then 2 gallons the next month, then 1 gallon per month thereafter. I started a couple of years ago, and so far so good.

Many folks I know throw gallons of vinegar down their drains on a weekly basis. They believe it keeps the pipes smelling fresh. I think you are just throwing good money down the drain. Tree roots will always go to a water source, with vinegar or not. Yeahs ago, I had a plumber request I dig out my main line and throw (10) 50 pounds of rock salt around the perimeter of the pipes, but it probably would have been cheaper just to get rid of the clay pipe and replace it with a full length ABS pipe, where no root penetration could attack it.

havasu said:

Many folks I know throw gallons of vinegar down their drains on a weekly basis. They believe it keeps the pipes smelling fresh. I think you are just throwing good money down the drain. Tree roots will always go to a water source, with vinegar or not. Yeahs ago, I had a plumber request I dig out my main line and throw (10) 50 pounds of rock salt around the perimeter of the pipes, but it probably would have been cheaper just to get rid of the clay pipe and replace it with a full length ABS pipe, where no root penetration could attack it.

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Here was a plumber for many decades, with a great reputation in my town, telling me something which, if it works, would erase a significant portion of his business (as he admitted.) He told me none of his customers who had required rooting every year or so, then followed the vinegar treatment, had required root service thereafter. There are several possible explanations for his behavior, but, applying Occam's Razor, the simplest explanation is that he's telling the truth, and it does work.
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