Drain King saved the day...

[Raymond Fries]

The kitchen drain decided it had had enough of our abuse today and refused to do its job. Two different liquid clog removers would not touch it. I pulled all of the drain pipe out back to the wall and tried one of those plastic things with the hooks. No good. Tried my electric wire fish tape. No good.

Decided to go to Menards and got a Drain King. It is one of those inflatable bladders you connect to a hose. I got the kit to connect it to a faucet and it had an adapter and 10' of hose.

That thing blasted to clog on its way never to be seen again.

YAY

Thought I would share should you ever need a drain opened up.

[Phil Thien]

I used one of the vac attachments when we first moved into this house. Tub and drain had water in them, covered the overfill, turned on the vac and the hose shuddered. Turned off the vac after a few seconds and opened the vac.

Old lady hair, and lots and lots of it. It was enough to make about ten wigs. And lots of black hair dye just kind of in the hair/water mix. I emptied the vac and figured since the drain was still running slow, I might as well do it again. More hair, and like soap layers filled with hair that had been dyed black.

It was kinda disturbing.

The drain still wasn't excellent and every once in a while I'd use a plunger and this disgusting old later hair filth would come up. I don't know where it was all being stored, I think it was in the 12' section from the tub to the stack that went downstairs, and it was just super-full of old lady hair.

Fast forward to two years ago and my daughter who had just purchased a house belonging to an old lady called and said the tub drain was running slowly. So I used the plastic thing with hooks and yep, same problem.

I use a strainer in our tubs and am amazed at the amount of hair that is caught.

Amazed, and disturbed.

Seriously, that vac hose shuttered like a wombat was coming through it.

[Ted Calver]

....Amazed, and disturbed.
Seriously, that vac hose shuttered like a wombat was coming through it.
Phil, You do have a certain way with words. :D :D

[Michael Weber]

Seriously, that vac hose shuttered like a wombat was coming through it.
what a phrase. I laughed

[Brian W Smith]

Thanks for the Drain King headsup.Our kitchen sink seems to be on about a two year schedule or frequency.After the second time it kluged(20 some years ago),I installed a cleanout in a convenient place.Further study for folks.....really a brain teaser of sorts,why does a 2" pipe clog before a 1 1/2" when in the flat(with slope)position.Ask an old plumber about it,vs googling.

[Phil Thien]

...why does a 2" pipe clog before a 1 1/2" when in the flat(with slope)position...

Old lady hair.

More serious answer (guess): Flow speed?

[Steve Peterson]

Further study for folks.....really a brain teaser of sorts,why does a 2" pipe clog before a 1 1/2" when in the flat(with slope)position.Ask an old plumber about it,vs googling.

Anyone with a dust collector should know that the dust settles when the velocity drops. The air (or water) in the smaller pipe will be moving faster and will keep the dust (or hair) moving.

Years ago my roommates would just use a garden hose to unclog toilets. Shove it down the trap as far as possible and turn it on full blast. It usually worked, but you have to be quick to shut it off if needed. I can see how the rubber bladder would make it much more efficient with less chance of water going the wrong way.

Steve

[Tom Stenzel]

My Father would go on a week long fishing trip with my uncles each year. Like clockwork after he would leave something would go wrong at the house. Mom would call. One year it was the kitchen sink drain had clogged.

Dad had one of the Drain King type things, put it on the hose and turned it on. The water ran for several minutes, the blockage HAD to be gone. When I turned the water off about 5 gallons of water rushed out at me!

To make a long story short, the water was backing up the vent stack and dumping out onto the roof of the house. I eventually got the drain cleared (grease clog) but I remember the crickets were chirping by the time I went home.

The real solution to the problem- Go on the fishing trip too!

-Tom

[Dave Lehnert]

The kitchen drain decided it had had enough of our abuse today and refused to do its job. Two different liquid clog removers would not touch it. I pulled all of the drain pipe out back to the wall and tried one of those plastic things with the hooks. No good. Tried my electric wire fish tape. No good.

Decided to go to Menards and got a Drain King. It is one of those inflatable bladders you connect to a hose. I got the kit to connect it to a faucet and it had an adapter and 10' of hose.

That thing blasted to clog on its way never to be seen again.

YAY

Thought I would share should you ever need a drain opened up.

THANK YOU

The sink drain in the bathroom has been running very, very slow. I had done everything to get it opened up. Nothing would work this time. Stopped by HD and picked up a Drain King like device sold under another name. 30 seconds and drain is flowing like new.

Thanks again for the tip.