Sink and bath plug cleaning brushes

JohnB47

I've recently ordered and received some different types of plug cleaning brush. I went for three, fairly low priced ones, in the hope that at least one would be suitable. However they are all far too stiff. It's not just that the bristles themselves are stiff - the main problem is the twisted wire stems, far far too stiff and inflexible. They might go straight down into the plug holes but I feel they would do damage it I tried shoving them round curves.

The gunge I need to shift is very soft so I'm looking for a fairly soft bristled brush with a thin flexible, maybe bendable too, central stem. The brush need only be around 8" long, including handle.

Has anyone found an item like this?

Thanks.

Ruski

I'd be inclined to remove the trap to clean it out, and then if you have 'gunk' further down the pipework then your existing bristle brushes would be perfect for the job.

HTH

Russ

JohnB47

Thanks.

Actually I did just that on the bathroom sink but it still left a lot of soft grey gunk in the metalwork itself - which has one of those push-to-close, push-to-open plug arrangements. I'd like a really flexible brush to go down and swish around that part (or up from below with the trap removed). The sinks overflow recess is pretty small and it would need a really flexible brush to go down round that bend. The trap itself was fairly clean actually.

The bath plug hole is a different matter. I'm not going to remove the bath side panel to get at that trap. Especially as it has a complicated fitting that allows the bath to be filled through the integrated overflow. Again, I'm only worried about cleaning the top three or four inches of the plug hole fitting.

Perhaps I should be looking for something designed to clean delicate glass things, like test tubes?

Thanks again.

DigForVictory

A black & decker, a length of gardening wire & the green panscrub rectangle things & you can wind your own brush to your preferred rigidity dictated by the wire & the severity of the twist. Er, the panscrub replaces bristles. (have a go &/or see this instructables guide?)

If you "harvest" bristles off a softer brush, you can twist them in. It's a bit fiddly but it's possible & it gives you much more control over your brush.

Bath plug hole? Best of luck!

JohnB47

Hmmmm. You know, that's an idea. I'd need to find a nice fine wire but it could be done. I've now been looking at various bottle/test tube brushes and many of them seem light and bendy, so perhaps try making one first, then buy if it doesn't work. Cheers.

DigForVictory

Yes, to get a 180 degree bend you will *not* want to use the wire from a coathanger!
If you've a nice builders merchant or hardware store, they may sell you a handful of assorted metre lengths, just Label Each with the thickness!

And go gently with the black & decker starting the twist & inserting abrasive/bristles. You can 'accelerate' along the handle!

JohnB47

Thanks for the tips. Yes, coat hanger wire is even thicker than on the ones I've bought. There are quite a few bits of wire in my shed. Been there for years and I knew they'd come in handy - must tell the missus that.

I've got a cordless screwdriver/drill that I could use - the speed is much easier to control than my mains powered drill and it doesn't have such a high speed anyway.

Cheers.

getmore4less

you need one of the spring coil style drain cleaners with a brush on the end they will go round any bend.

seen one £2.89 on ebay.

a combo of some/all of these words in google should find something

sink snake brush spring coil

JohnB47

Thanks but I'm thinking of cleaning only the top two to three inches of a sort of soft gunk. It's that build up that's caused the sink/bath to drain slowly and smell a bit. It's not the U bends and pipes beyond, which are clear. Those jobbies you mention are for archaeological digs!

Cheers.

getmore4less

in your first post....

but I feel they would do damage it I tried shoving them round curves.

JohnB47

OK, fair enough but by saying that I was talking more of the need to go into and down the little overflow recess in the bathroom basin. Something really light, flexible and fairly short needed there. Thanks all the same.