Does Drain Blaster/Doctor work?

Birdy12

I noticed a stagnant water smell in our house the other day and worked out it was to do with the bathroom sink, the water had been draining away very slowly. We took the u-bend? bit off and, sure enough, there was a lot of gunk that we got rid of.

I'm keen to give the pipework a 'clean-through', however, it's a sink with no pedestal so the pipework is behind the tiling.

If I use these sink cleaners currently on the market:

a) can you recommend a good one, and
b) do they work anyway?

Cheers, Birdy

NB - The drains are clear so it's just the sink pipework I'd like to get clean.

Ebe_Scrooge

You've already done the best thing by manually clearing the u-bend. For pipework that's not easily accessible, one of the best and cheapest solutions is plain, old-fashioned caustic soda. Available from hardware shops, some supermarkets and DIY places, it comes in powder / crystal form. Much cheaper than the fancy branded concoctions, and pretty powerful stuff.

Just read the label, and take sensible precautions - it's very good at burning through gunk in drains, it's also very good at burning through human skin :-) But perfectly OK as long as you're sensible with it.

ariba10

Try Caustic Soda.

But make sure you read the label first.

Birdy12

Thanks guys.

I picked some up from Homebase and used it on both the bath and sink pipes. Even though the water was draining away slowly in the sink, the 'stagnant water' smell was, in fact, coming from the bath pipework.

Water is now draining away normally and smell has gone! Also had some Caustic Soda left over so cleaned out one of the drains.

Cheers, Birdy

charlieann

Hi,
Sorry to hijack some else's thread but I had similar problems with slow draining water. I tried to take the u-bend section off and clean it, it was pretty clear. I tried caustic soda and it seems to be draining better.
Problem is we have now sprung a leak. It's coming from the section of u-bend that screw's onto the bath. I'm assuming/ hoping it's me not tightening it up enough and I'm waiting for OH to come home so he can try tightening it. Am I right in thinking there is some sort of putty type sealant I could put on the joint, what is it called and where can I get some? Or is there any better suggestions before i look into calling a plumber?
Thanks, Charlie

Plumberman

charlieann wrote: »

Am I right in thinking there is some sort of putty type sealant I could put on the joint, what is it called and where can I get some?

Don't even think about it! Leaks need repairing, not botching up..

Get OH to have a look at it..