Drain Cleaner

26copper, Jun 26, 10:59am
Need to give the bathroom sink plus hole/drain a damn good clean out. I have pulled out dental floss and bristles, and black gunge (from previous occupier!) using tweezers and I've used Mr Muscle Drano and a plunger, but the water sort of banks up but then clears itself. Not as good as it should be. No other sinks have this problem. Putting vinegar down now.

Happy to buy a better product that will do the job.

Thank you.
retrogold, Jun 26, 11:46am
Try caustic soda from Mitre10, follow instructions as it is heavy duty.
oh_hunnihunni, Jun 26, 12:29pm
Try heating the vinegar and adding it slowly. Sometimes the scum build up needs to be melted.
anne1955, Jun 26, 1:02pm
Hi I brought cheap and nasty type oven and general spray cleaner which I used straight out of bottle on the dirtist rental I have moved into ever. $3.00's from the Warehouse By gosh it cleaned years of muck off. For the drain I'd tip a bottle down drain then leave for 10mins and then hot water down it. May need to repeat :( But then I'd plunge it a couple of times and see if it iis helping even the oven clean sprayed down it will dislodge/breakdown the greasey stuff and at 3.00 a bottle & spray can worth the go. Caustic soda is great as well
koru67, Jun 26, 1:58pm
A curtain wire with a hook on the end works well. Even better if you add more wire to make a larger hook. Be prepared to pull out a major clump of hair or dental floss etc. If you can get the clump out the water will drain immediately.
trade4us2, Jun 26, 4:11pm
I have just fixed my blocked drain with caustic soda (which is very dangerous)
bryshaw, Jun 26, 5:21pm
Copious amounts of boiling water should clear it and if you can reach the outlet push up a hose to try and clear the pipe.
marte, Jun 26, 7:17pm
Hot water to warm it up. Caustic soda will dissolve hair etc. Use a plunger ( with safety glasses etc! ) to plunge it & give it some agitation to get it to work.

If its just the S bend, then do smaller amounts at a time. Some caustic soda drain cleaner, like Draino, has Aluminium flakes in it to generate Hydrogen gas to give it some agitation too.
Leaving it overnight might help it a lot too. Read the instructions ( some shouldn't be left overnight )

If thats not working, then theres more expensive 2 pack products at the hardware store.
hazelnut2, Jun 26, 9:07pm
Dismantle the S drain under the basin. Easiest way to get at all the gunk out Maybe the overflow drain will dismantle too? Make sure you tighten the screws really well when re-assembling.

Been there, did that.
sue1955, Jun 27, 8:48am
Ye Gods! People put dental floss down the drain. Why?
trade4us2, Jun 27, 8:55am
My drain was blocked for about 12 metres. I needed half a bottle of caustic soda to clear it.

The plumber fitted 12 metres of drain pipe almost horizontal. The plastic pipe clamps all broke, so the pipe was resting on the ground in a big curve. It's a jungle out the back of the house so the pipe can't be seen.
I have replaced all the pipe clamps with metal ones.
lythande1, Jun 27, 9:09am
Is it a pedestal sink?
Take it apart. you'll see, if there is no s trap - a thing like a plastic icing bag below the plughole. This thing is the stupidest design ever, all the hair and gunk builds up and you'll never clear it.
We had space under floor so removed the icing bag thing and put an s trap in under the house instead.
lythande1, Jun 27, 9:23am
The other thing. get rid of the old school plug. put a pop-up waste in, it's easy you can even DIY. far easier to clean, no tweezers needed.
nicc4, Jun 27, 3:16pm
Go to your local farm supplies store and get either a 5kg Kleer Klenz (powder) or 5ltr Principal (liquid). These are high strength chlorinated alkali products, better than caustic soda on its own.
Put as much neat product down the drain hole as possible. Then fill the basin with hot water, pull the plug and away it goes. The powder in particular when wet creates a localised boiling to assist with hard deposit removal.
Only use with good ventilation, and the requisite gloves and eye protection.
Another consideration is drain point. If on a septic tank try not to overdo it with chlorine products, as it will upset the good bacteria balance in the tank.
korban, Jun 27, 8:30pm
We have one of these, I dislike it. Would change back tomorrow to a regular plug.
yz490, Jun 27, 9:43pm
I use a good stiff rubber plunger but lift i off every plunge so it tries to pull the blockage up then down, sort of double push pull plunge until you get a result at least. Lets a bit more water in to push each time too. Works for me. Have Drano [i forgot] but plunger beats that for me at least.
megan109, Jun 27, 10:11pm
Vinegar and baking soda
26copper, Jun 28, 6:23am
Yes, you have to wonder about dental floss down the plug hole.

Not a pedestal basin.

It's one of those wind off lid plug hole things. Is that what pop up waste is? So not the standard one.

Yes, someone said straightaway that the S bend needs dismantling and gunge cleaned out.

Have used boiling water, vinegar, baking soda, lots of plunging, Mr Muscle Drano, dishwasher power.

Will try Warehouse oven cleaner. A good idea maybe because oven cleaner is strong nasty stuff - mask and gloves.

Will think on the caustic soda option and Klenz/Principal ideas.

Thanks everyone! Great advice!
articferrit, Jun 28, 7:06am
as an aside, I recently used the last of a can of very old oven cleaner to clean a very stained toilet bowl, I know its not recommended - but it did a great job.
hammer23, Jun 28, 9:48am
Take a picture on your phone of the trap under the sink then go to Bunnings etc and show them the picture of the trap. Buy it and swap it over your self which is not a diffucult job. Tools needed a decent adjustable pipe wrench,buy that as well. When completed wash pipe work out with one of the excellent suggestions you have had.Best of luck.
tegretol, Jun 28, 10:59am
True, way better than pouring money/chemicals down the drain. A good sinkful of hot water before the plunging also helps.
boby11, Jun 28, 12:43pm
My sink draining got worse and had little flow .After dismantling the steel pipe down pipe it was found to be full of some hardened gritty stuff so had to be replaced. Nothing had removed it.
zak410, Jul 15, 3:05am
If you have a vacuum cleaner with a blow function, use that to push the blockage away. I use a plastic lid with a hole for the vacuum tube to fit and hold that hermetically over the plug hole of the basin; works every time.