# Draino



## gcbryan (Apr 14, 2010)

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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## Ty_Bower (Apr 14, 2010)

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.


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## csshih (Apr 14, 2010)

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


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## GLOCK18 (Apr 14, 2010)

I've used it in a completely clogged drain takes some time but it work. Use the gel type it works the best.


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## turbodog (Apr 14, 2010)

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.



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.


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## lunchboxtheman (Apr 15, 2010)

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:


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## Patriot (Apr 15, 2010)

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.


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## GrnXnham (Apr 15, 2010)

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


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## gcbryan (Apr 15, 2010)

GrnXnham said:


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



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.


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## LEDninja (Apr 15, 2010)

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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## JohnR66 (Apr 15, 2010)

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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## Lynx_Arc (Apr 15, 2010)

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.


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## gcbryan (Apr 15, 2010)

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.



What is this called and where do you get it?


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## csa (Apr 15, 2010)

The $4,000 shifting tile?


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## Jay R (Apr 16, 2010)

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.


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## LED_Thrift (Apr 16, 2010)

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.


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## turbodog (Apr 16, 2010)

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.




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


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## chmsam (Apr 16, 2010)

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.


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## bullfrog (Apr 16, 2010)

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.





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.




Sage advice.

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


.


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## FlashKat (Apr 17, 2010)

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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## LEDAdd1ct (Apr 17, 2010)

I don't understand how the bladder/hose attachment works. Could someone please explain it?


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## Launch Mini (Apr 17, 2010)

If draino is still in the pipes, you can use a turkey baster to suck as much out as possible.
When using a plunger, a trick it to PULL up on it with as much force as possible rather than trying to PUSH it down.
And as mentioned, cover the overlfow hole with something. I flat piece of wet rubber to seal that up , then pull pull pull

It's usually something going DOWN the pipe that clogs it, so pulling it back & breaking it up is often easier.


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## KC2IXE (Apr 17, 2010)

Really wet cloth over the overflow, air line part down the drain, wet cloth over drain, open air valve at 100 or so PSI - tada - no more clog (warning can spray water out of every drain in the house, and blow pipes apart at those PSI numbers - 5-10 is actually a LOT more safe, and tends to work too)


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## gcbryan (Apr 17, 2010)

Since I started this thread, I'll add what worked for me so as to add to all the good info now contained in this thread.

My problem was with a clogged kitchen sink that also has a disposer installed. I've never had any problems and all of a sudden it just wouldn't drain. I turned on the disposer and if anything it made it worse.

I took the trap off under the sink and it looked fine. A gallon of water drained out (into a plastic trash can). I ended up buying an auger to put in the exposed pipe leading away from the drain...nothing.

I tried Draino. I went through 2 cans. It would take 5 hours to drain. Finally it didn't drain at all. I was ready to test to see if the problem was with the disposer (in which case I was going to call a plumber to just remove it and reconnect the existing pipes) or if it was a clog beyond where I couldn't reach with the auger.

This time when I removed the trap, after having Draino stuck in there for 24 hours, the trap had a bunch of crap in it. I cleaned everything up and the problem is solved.

I don't know much about disposal units. It seems like they should have a trap in the unit itself but that doesn't seem to be the case so I don't know where the crap gets stuck exactly.

I've had this disposal unit for 15 years and I've never had a problem at all.

Anyway, that seems to have fixed the problem. I'm going to use the disposal more lightly from now on but that's about it.

I've learned some things to try if other plumbing problems crop up so thanks for all the responses.


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## Launch Mini (Apr 19, 2010)

gcbryan said:


> Since I started this thread, I'll add what worked for me so as to add to all the good info now contained in this thread.
> 
> My problem was with a clogged kitchen sink that also has a disposer installed. I've never had any problems and all of a sudden it just wouldn't drain. I turned on the disposer and if anything it made it worse.
> 
> ...



We have a similar problem that occurs with quite frequency. In our case the plumber left one drain line at too horizontal a plane, with an elbow not going down at 90 degrees, SOOO if we grind a bunch of stuff and DON"T let enough water drain afterwards, the crap settles in that horizontal pipe. PULLING on the plunger works best in our case.
Don't like putting draino in a disposal as it could fly back at you if you turn in on with stuff in the lines.


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## gcbryan (Apr 19, 2010)

Launch Mini said:


> We have a similar problem that occurs with quite frequency. In our case the plumber left one drain line at too horizontal a plane, with an elbow not going down at 90 degrees, SOOO if we grind a bunch of stuff and DON"T let enough water drain afterwards, the crap settles in that horizontal pipe. PULLING on the plunger works best in our case.
> Don't like putting draino in a disposal as it could fly back at you if you turn in on with stuff in the lines.



I didn't like doing it either and I liked it even less when it still didn't drain and I had to take the trap under the sink off!

However, nothing else worked including the plunger and even Draino by itself didn't let the water drain until I took the trap off (for the second time).


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## was.lost.but.now.found (Apr 19, 2010)

Here's a list of don'ts I've learned the hard way over the years. Feel free to learn from my mistakes.

Don't fill the disposal before turning it on.

Don't try to grind up any amount of any variety of shellfish, shrimp, crawfish, etc.

Don't try to grind up potato peels.

Don't treat your disposal as if it's a hungry goat, just waiting to wolf down anything you throw at it.

Don't try to grind up any amount of raw chicken or pork bones (like from pork steaks).


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## J-FRAME (Apr 19, 2010)

I live next door to a plumber. Problem solved.


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## asdalton (Apr 19, 2010)

was.lost.but.now.found said:


> Don't treat your disposal as if it's a hungry goat, just waiting to wolf down anything you throw at it.



That reminds me of a headline from _The Onion_:

*Cheap garbage disposal can't handle femur
*


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## Launch Mini (Apr 20, 2010)

was.lost.but.now.found said:


> Here's a list of don'ts I've learned the hard way over the years. Feel free to learn from my mistakes.
> 
> Don't fill the disposal before turning it on.
> 
> ...


 
Don't let your wife grind up all the old cereal, flower, nuts , baking supplies etc WITHOUT enough water to rinse it down. Do the math.:sick2:


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## Radiophile (Apr 21, 2010)

A sink full of ice with just enough water to allow it to flow will usually clear up garbage disposal problems - as long as it turns.

I saw a segment on This Old House where they toured a factory that makes garbage disposals. The stuff they put through them during a test would make most people cringe. I was amazed at the quantity of 2" wood blocks they sent through with no problem. Basically you can put anything through them except metal. And if it clogs up, push through lots of ice.


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## TorchBoy (Apr 21, 2010)

I've heard of using ice to get rid of smells, but hadn't heard it's good for unclogging as well.


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## csa (Apr 21, 2010)

It sounds like some people just need to get better disposals! I was sad that I had to take mine out after the neighbor complained about the noise though...


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## LuxLuthor (Apr 21, 2010)

The last "In-Sinkerator" disposal I had leaked water into the wiring coming in the bottom from rust damage over years, which was brought to my attention by a rudely awakening shock. I didn't have a drain blockage problem, but rather a undershorts changing issue.


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