Draino

Is Draino (drain unclogger) mainly to be used if a drain has a low rate of draining rather than completely clogged?

I'm concerned that if I put the Draino in and it doesn't get past the clog then I won't be able to flush it and therefore dilute it after the specified amount of time.

If it sets longer than the specified period of time I think it can actually eat through pipes and do more damage than good.

I think Draino is supposed to be pretty good at stripping the anodize finish off aluminum flashlights. Just don't leave it in the bath too long, or it'll eat the aluminum too. You'll have to polish the light when you are done. Some people like the shiny bare aluminum look.

lol, ty,
I don't think the OP is asking about stripping aluminum lights

gcbryan said:

Is Draino (drain unclogger) mainly to be used if a drain has a low rate of draining rather than completely clogged?

I'm concerned that if I put the Draino in and it doesn't get past the clog then I won't be able to flush it and therefore dilute it after the specified amount of time.

If it sets longer than the specified period of time I think it can actually eat through pipes and do more damage than good.

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Drano is a base, an alkaline. It won't eat through metals, except aluminum. It may discolor them a little.

Back to the question... if the drain works at all, you'll be fine. Just make sure you add the proper amount of COLD follow up water.

Drano works in a few ways:
1. When it mixes with water, it heats up the water to very high temps. This helps soften/etc grease/scum/etc.
2. It will turn grease into soap, which can then be dissolved by plain water.
3. It will dissolve hair. It is good at this. It is also good at eating through the corneas of your eye. Wear eye protection...

ABSOLUTELY do NOT put drano (base/alkaline) and acid drain cleaners into drain together. You will experience a violent, sudden spray of boiling, chemical laden, water.

In short, I would use drano with no concerns. Even if it won't flush through right away, I bet it will in 5-10 minutes.

There are different types of drano for different types of clogs. The gel works best for standing water and the foam kind works best for slow moving clogs IIRC.
From Drano's website, the foam kind can be used in any kind of pipe. I used it with PVC pipes to clear some lumps of hair the roommate left for me :green:

Good timing on this topic for me. I've got a slow draining tub that I have to deal with in the morning. I'll try some gel and report back.

You can also just purchase a wire snake and clean it out that way without using any chemicals.

GrnXnham said:

You can also just purchase a wire snake and clean it out that way without using any chemicals.

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I tried that but couldn't get far enough for whatever reason...either because of the blockage or because of a bend in the pipe. I did get 5 feet or so into the pipes from under the sink.

I'm also wondering if a blockage in the actual sink disposal unit could be possible. Somewhere that I haven't been able to get to. When I'm using the snake I'm bypassing the disposal and I don't know how to check out blockages in that.

Draino ate through my fully clogged pipes.

There was an enzyme based unclogger that you leave for 24 hours and it will slowly dissolve organic matter but not the pipes. Used by a previous management company in our building.

I have one of those rubber bladder things you put on the end of a hose and put it in the drain. Turn on the water and it swells up and seals the pipe so that it fills with water and the pressure blows the clog out. The water jet out the front helps to clear the clog as well. They are made for different sized pipes.

My main sewer line clogs often. I know I need to replace it soon ($4,000:mecry due to shifting tile, but the bladder works every time. The chemicals are slow or useless to me.

I have a toilet that gets clogged at times, just found a page on the internet that says pour dish soap and hot water down it and it seems to have worked. I pulled the shower wand off the hose to get the hot water and just poured it down the toilet for awhile and flushed it. I had a clog in the bathtub and pulled out some hair. the drain to the washing machine was stopping up and had to have the drain augered.

JohnR66 said:

I have one of those rubber bladder things you put on the end of a hose and put it in the drain. Turn on the water and it swells up and seals the pipe so that it fills with water and the pressure blows the clog out. The water jet out the front helps to clear the clog as well. They are made for different sized pipes.

My main sewer line clogs often. I know I need to replace it soon ($4,000:mecry due to shifting tile, but the bladder works every time. The chemicals are slow or useless to me.

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What is this called and where do you get it?

The $4,000 shifting tile?

I always got best results with an old style rubber plunger. Fill the sink up with hot water, place a wet cloth over the overflow so that air can't get sucked in and out and give the plunger a few pumps over the drain hole. Hey presto ! A nice clear pipe.

I never had much luck with the Drano-type uncloggers, maybe because I wait too long before I use the stuff. What works best for me when a plunger doesn't solve the problem is a snake you attach to an electric drill. It costs about $25. It is coiled inside a round plastic housing and you attach your drill to it. You feed the snake into the pipe until it won't go any farther, tighten the wingnut which locks the snake to the drill, then spin the drill [and snake] and it works its way past the bend in the pipe or other obstruction. It's the homeowners equivalent of a professonal snake.

LEDninja said:

Draino ate through my fully clogged pipes.

There was an enzyme based unclogger that you leave for 24 hours and it will slowly dissolve organic matter but not the pipes. Used by a previous management company in our building.

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Should not have happened. Sometimes the gunk is the only thing keeping a thin-walled/damaged pipe from leaking.

Ah, the things you learn over a lifetime...

Excuse my long winded response but my semi-worthless opinion is that the best thing to do before it gets to the "it won't drain at all" stage is preventive maintenance. When the drain first begins to run slow is the time to use a plunger or even to try just stopping the drain, filling with a gallon or two with as hot water as you can get, and then opening the drain. The gunk usually dissolves in the hot water and the weight of the water forces the clog the clear. Most small clogs will clear with the pressure from releasing a gallon or so of water.

If the drain runs very slowly then proper use of a plunger is called for but most folks don't seem to do it correctly. Jay R listed it pretty much as the right way but a REALLY wet cloth jammed into the overflow is very important -- you are trying to form a seal so that the plunging allows no air to escape. Try to jam the soaking wet cloth into the drain vent as tightly as possible and you'll find that the plunger works much, much better and a lot easier too. Also it sounds obvious but be sure that the plunger you are using will form a tight seal around the drain. Run enough water to submerge all of the rubber on the plunger. Don't feel that you have to use an enormous amount of force since the pressure of the water itself does most of the work. Pulling up on the plunger usually has as much or more success for me than trying to force the clog down but your mileage may vary.

If the drain really won't clear you might be able to remove the ring catch (the small grate over the drain) if there is one and then undo the stopper mechanism. If it's a sink drain you will probably find a connection for the stopper mechanism near the trap underneath the sink -- with the sink drained just unscrew the retaining ring and pull the connecting rod out slowly (it should be pretty easy to replace it since one side is usually flat and will hook right back in underneath the stopper). For a bathtub the connection is usually behind the fascia for the stopper lever. Remove the fascia and use a pair of pliers to hold the end of the rod that connects to the stopper until you can hook a long piece of wire into it so it won't drop inside the tub wall. For either a tub or a sink you should then be able to remove the stopper by just pulling it out. Now you can use a stiff piece of wire to remove a lot of hair, gunk, etc. and that usually does the trick. Anything further down the drain is a job for a plumbers snake. Google drain hair clogs and you'll probably find a clearer explanation than I've written.

You can see that I think of drain cleaners as an absolute last resort. Read the labels very carefully if you use one. These are harsh chemicals. Go find an old style hardware store that has someone a bit older working or call the local cooperative extension (one of the best use of tax dollars anywhere). The home centers and a lot of their teenage helpers don't have as much hands on experience as a good old fashioned hardware store staff. Ask questions before you use the stuff.

A basic text on home plumbing will answer a lot of questions about stuff like this. The local library is still worth its weight in gold for solving problems like this.

By the way, keeping the drains cleared of gunk also helps prevent an infestation of drain flies. They are actually a type of moth but they look like gnats or tiny flies. They breed in drains and once they are in one they easily migrate into other drains in the house. They can be a real pain to get rid of and are pretty disgusting because they tend to fly into your toothpaste, shaving cream, etc. Most of us do not need that little extra bit of protein in our diets. Just one more reason to do a little PM on the plumbing.

At any rate, good luck whatever method you use.

Jay R said:

I always got best results with an old style rubber plunger. Fill the sink up with hot water, place a wet cloth over the overflow so that air can't get sucked in and out and give the plunger a few pumps over the drain hole. Hey presto ! A nice clear pipe.

Click to expand...

chmsam said:

If the drain runs very slowly then proper use of a plunger is called for but most folks don't seem to do it correctly. Jay R listed it pretty much as the right way but a REALLY wet cloth jammed into the overflow is very important -- you are trying to form a seal so that the plunging allows no air to escape. Try to jam the soaking wet cloth into the drain vent as tightly as possible and you'll find that the plunger works much, much better and a lot easier too.

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Sage advice.

A third vote for the good 'ol plunger - works like a charm 90% of the time...


.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KKOZ6A/?tag=cpf0b6-20

gcbryan said:

What is this called and where do you get it?

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