HELP! Drain blocked nothing seems to clear it!

HOLsale

Mr_Proctalgia wrote:

All the above is good advice ,but, if still stuck go to Wilco's and get a tub of caustic soda and pour it down the drain, be aware that it will cause an exothermic reaction and may boil the water in the U bend so wear protective gear, leave the tap on a very very slow drip and overnight it will dissolve all organic products and leave you with pristine plumbing.

Hope this helps

hope i don't have to resort to caustic soda (kinda dangerous isn't it?) but thanks for the tip.

we don't have wilco's around here... where else could i buy caustic soda?

HOLsale

Mrsbojangles wrote:

The best thing we ever bought for a blocked loo/drains is this can with air in it from B & Q was about £10 though! But you can use it over and over, its saved us twice now from having to call dynarod out, worked great and definately worth the money.

If you want more details on the name, drop me a PM and I will dig it out the garage in the morning for you x

thanks... if these methods dont' work i'll pm you... better £10 then a plumbers bill :eek:

moggins

Good luck Holsale, Luckily I can call on XDH when things like this happen. Although I did buy a set of drain rods when the toilet started backing up Even at £20 for the rods it was still less than half the price of Dynorod

sheena4711

we had the same problem, hubby took off u-bend to find shedloads of cotton buds

penrhyn

Bung up the sink overflow with a damp cloth or something, put some water in the bowl and try the plunger again. Remember to keep a spare hand over the overflow to stop the pressure forcing it out.

If it fails then back to dismantling the u bend.

Js_Other_Half

If you do use caustic soda, treat it with the utmost respect - my mum ended up needing facial skin grafts after some caustic soda splashed onto her face when she was trying to clear a blockage.:(

aimeelister

We use caustic soda all the time in our house for unblocking the drains in both the bathroom and the kitchen and it works very well. We get it from the local hardwear store which costs us about £1.50 for a bottle that lasts about 6 doses. My major tip is dont leave it too long (we do about 10 mins) in the pipes (otherwise it can damage the pipes) and flush out with loads of hot water. Also when you leave the sink (after pouring it down) leave the bottle/tub in the sink so everyone else knows that you've poured the stuff down there and they then take more care when they use the sink. My mum always used it for unblocking the outside drains where the leaves had blocked it up pouring the whole tub/bottle in and leaving it for a couple of hours.

We just love the stuff it works wonders with my long hair down the bath plughole.

pickle

I agree with dollop's suggestion, it's simple to do.

boogiemaster

Just unscrew the pipes an get an old toothbrush and run some hot water into the pipe with some washing up liquid.
The washing up liquid helps to loosen the grease and grime and the toothbrush does the rest :-)
I clean mine out the same way and with a wife and four kids it soon gets blocked up quickly again.
Also you can blast some water through the pipe with the hose pipe if you cannot be bothered wit hthe toothbrush.
Also buy a toilet brush as thats another good way to clean the pipes a lot faster a well, just make sure the one you buy willl fit in the pipes.

LittleJo

Hi,
I have a bottle brush which I use to keep pipes clear. bought it from home brewing shop. You can also buy a sort of wire thing, bit like a curtain wire that goes round bends.
jo