Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.

Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge?

That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years.

I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar.

Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation.
He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer.

Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?

TIA

HB

On Friday, July 19, 2013 2:51:22 PM UTC-7, Higgs Boson wrote:
Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.



Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge?



That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years.



I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar.



Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation.

He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer.



Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?



TIA



HB

Did he have one of these on the tip of his snake?

http://www.jimslimstools.com/Images/...tter_small.jpg

On 07/19/2013 02:51 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
What do you recommend?

A few tablespoons of coffee grounds each day.

Jon

every 20 years, or less,
you should pull the pipes under the sink apart,
and manually clean them out.

The snake thing is only a temporary fix, from my experience

marc

On 07/19/2013 06:07 PM, wrote:
On Friday, July 19, 2013 2:51:22 PM UTC-7, Higgs Boson wrote:
Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.



Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge?



That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years.



I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar.



Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation.

He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer.



Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?



TIA



HB

Did he have one of these on the tip of his snake?

http://www.jimslimstools.com/Images/...tter_small.jpg


Do you regularly cook pasta and drain it in the sink?

If not throw a pot of boiling water down it every 6 mos. or so.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
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Higgs Boson wrote:
Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.

Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber
said it was grease and ? sludge?

That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years.

I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into
the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use
disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar.

Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation.
He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer.

Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?

TIA

HB

How far does his snake go before he clears the pipes? Could it be roots?
Did you have a fairly mild winter?

A guy that worked for one of the biggest plumbing companies in my area told
me that mild winters can to more roots in the spring. He said that in the
years where they don't deal with a lot of frozen and burst pipes during the
winter, they tend to get more calls for roots in the drains during the
spring.

Since there is not a lot of water in the ground from the snow, the roots go
searching and usually find the drain pipes.

"Higgs Boson" wrote in message

Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.

Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY!
Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge?

That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every
3-4 years.

I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I
scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan
in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape
food into compost jar.

Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to
remedy situation.
He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at
all. Didn't get clear answer.

Group, what has been your experience? What do you
recommend?


Well, AFAIK bleach won't do much for grease. Lye will, turns it into soap.
Drano (crystalline type) is lye. Lye + some aluminum shavings to heat
things up.



--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

Nate Nagel wrote:
On 07/19/2013 06:07 PM, wrote:
On Friday, July 19, 2013 2:51:22 PM UTC-7, Higgs Boson wrote:
Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.



Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time,
plumber said it was grease and ? sludge? That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to
need it more than every 3-4 years.



I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease
into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I
hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar. Asked plumber
what I could put down drain periodically to remedy
situation. He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all.
Didn't get clear answer. Group, what has been your experience? What do you
recommend?



TIA



HB

Did he have one of these on the tip of his snake?

http://www.jimslimstools.com/Images/...tter_small.jpg


Do you regularly cook pasta and drain it in the sink?

If not throw a pot of boiling water down it every 6 mos. or so.


I would add - dump a full HUGE pot, or several big ones of BOILING water with a
big shot of grease cutting detergent each down the drain all at once. The
detergent makes sure that any grease disolved from the pipe gets carried out of
the pipe. Flush afterwards with lots of water.

They do make bacterial grease eating drain cleaners also.

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:51:22 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson
wrote in
Re Snake
kitchen sink too often:

Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?

I've only had to clean out congealed fat from my kitchen sink once in
20 years. That was just a few months ago.

I don't do anything special, except for not pouring or washing fat
down the drain.
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On Friday, July 19, 2013 4:51:22 PM UTC-5, Higgs Boson wrote:
Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink. Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge? That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years. I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar. Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation. He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer. Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend? TIA HB

Boiling water, a gallon or two, every month, and also dump some of the generic drain unstopper stuff from Walmart, HD or Lowes or Menards down whenever you think it might be slowing down.

I had a line that acted like that. finally had it all replaced after it leaked. how old is the home? the line was totally sluged up.......

it was copper and the interior was rotted.

had all PVC installed and its been years no leaks no backed up lines.

the downstream line might be bad leading to poor drainage and sluge collection.....

my main house drain lne has had root troubles for perhaps 15 years....

so a couple times a year dump a 25 pound bag of rocksalt in the basement washtub, mx hot water with a shovel to make a rich salt mixture, then everyone goes out for day.....

no root troubles anymore.....

Higgs Boson wrote:
Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.

Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge?

That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years.

I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar.

Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation.
He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer.

Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?

TIA

HB

Hi,
You know what your problem is, be careful what you try to wash down
there. Do you have garburator? Only time I need to snkae the sink drain
was when tea ball is accidentally sucked down. I took care of it myself.
Rented an auger from HD rental dept. Also don't use hot water when using
disposal unit.

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:51:22 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson
wrote:

Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.

Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge?

That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years.

I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar.

Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation.
He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer.

Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?

TIA

HB

Is the drain pipe the proper size and have few bends? Clog in the
same place? In my last house, I had the same problem because of the
way the drain line was run. It was a lead pipe (built late 1940s) and
the bend caused it to narrow down a bit. Final solution was to cut
the lead pipe and put in a 2' section of steam hose with clamps. I
could easily take it out and clean it.

In this house, it has never clogged. We have a dishwasher so it gets
caustic detergent and hot water on a regular basis. I'm also very
careful about grease going into the drain. All frying pans or greasy
pots get drained into a jar for grease disposal. The little that gets
washed is always with detergent and plenty of water.

The powdered lye stuff is supposed to
be good for grease and hair. Acid for
calcium.
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..
..
"dadiOH" wrote in message ...

Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to
remedy situation.
He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at
all. Didn't get clear answer.


Well, AFAIK bleach won't do much for grease. Lye will, turns it into soap.
Drano (crystalline type) is lye. Lye + some aluminum shavings to heat
things up.



--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:51:22 -0700, Higgs Boson wrote:

Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.

To answer the question, I've never had to snake my own kitchen
sink; but I've twice had to help a friend who throws all sorts
of stuff down the drain.

So, in *my* humble experience, zero to once every couple of
years is how long (depending on how much crud you put in the
sink).

Having said that, I can't figure out how to snake a kitchen sink
*without* disassembling at least the basket, which means the
pipes, which means I don't bother snaking simply because once
you've taken the plumbing apart, you can *see* the clogs and
push them out with your finger.

So, I ask the OP ... what did the plumber use to snake the
kitchen sink? Presumably one side has a garbage disposal (which
to my knowledge, can't be snaked); while the other side has
a basket, which would take a mighty thin snake (e.g., a coat
hanger-thick wire) without disassembly.

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 21:55:02 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:

Also don't use hot water when using disposal unit.

Why not?

On Saturday, July 20, 2013 6:53:38 PM UTC-4, Danny D. wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 21:55:02 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:



Also don't use hot water when using disposal unit.



Why not?

Garbage disposers are not made for continuous duty and rely on cold water to cool the motor. Hot water allows the heat to build up and shortens the life, sometimes dramatically.

On Sat, 20 Jul 2013 20:34:41 -0700, TimR wrote:

Garbage disposers are not made for continuous duty
and rely on cold water to cool the motor.
Hot water allows the heat to build up and shortens the
life, sometimes dramatically.

Hmmmm... ok.

I guess we're talking hot water from the tap,
because you couldn't boil enough hot water to make
all that much of a difference.

But, you could run hot water from the tap for a while.

I don't know much about garbage disposal units; as I
almost never use mine (once a year or so, when something
falls into the opening).

Danny D wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:51:22 -0700, Higgs Boson wrote:

Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.

To answer the question, I've never had to snake my own kitchen
sink; but I've twice had to help a friend who throws all sorts
of stuff down the drain.

So, in *my* humble experience, zero to once every couple of
years is how long (depending on how much crud you put in the
sink).

Having said that, I can't figure out how to snake a kitchen sink
*without* disassembling at least the basket, which means the
pipes, which means I don't bother snaking simply because once
you've taken the plumbing apart, you can *see* the clogs and
push them out with your finger.

So, I ask the OP ... what did the plumber use to snake the
kitchen sink? Presumably one side has a garbage disposal (which
to my knowledge, can't be snaked); while the other side has
a basket, which would take a mighty thin snake (e.g., a coat
hanger-thick wire) without disassembly.

Hi,
Maybe plumber checks and clean pPtrap and snake the drain thru access
port. Every drain pipe has access port tapped in with Y fitting.
unscrew the cap snake from there. I just did it once using auger. It
fished out little SS tea ball which went down by accident

wrote in message ...
every 20 years, or less,
you should pull the pipes under the sink apart,
and manually clean them out.

The snake thing is only a temporary fix, from my experience

marc

Ditto to that. I replaced a bathroom sink after about 20 years, and the horizontal drain pipe was caked with about 1/2-inch of packed solids. In my case, cleaning it out was really easy to do. Until then, it was always backing up. Now it's been a year and still flows freely.

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:51:22 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson
wrote:

Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.

Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge?

That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years.

I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar.

Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation.
He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer.

Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?

TIA

HB


Do you have a dishwasher that drains to the sink? That's a good way
to flush with soapy hot water. I almost never have drains clog. Been
in this house over 30 years and nothing's ever clogged. I attribute
that to the fact that I run warm and hot water liberally down my
drains and don't put grease in them. Like you I scrape it into the
garbage. Don't use coffee grounds, don't use drain cleaners, .. I
just ignore the "save water" folks and run plenty of hot water turn
the pipes to rinse stuff off and out. Been the same in every house
I've lived in. Many of them were turned into rentals when I moved on
and my tenants can get clogged drains in less than a year in the same
house I lived in for 5 years with never a clogged drain.

TimR wrote in
:

On Saturday, July 20, 2013 6:53:38 PM UTC-4, Danny D. wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 21:55:02 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:



Also don't use hot water when using disposal unit.



Why not?

Garbage disposers are not made for continuous duty and rely on cold
water to cool the motor. Hot water allows the heat to build up and
shortens the life, sometimes dramatically.

No sale.

On Sun, 21 Jul 2013 00:17:16 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:

Maybe plumber checks and clean pPtrap and snake the drain thru access
port.

I understand. But the OP didn't mention that so that's why
I had asked.

In "my" recent situation, for example, there was no p-trap
plug to remove; so I went through the outside 2" access pipe;
yet, to actually *snake* the kitchen drain, would have taken
a much smaller diameter than your typical snakes are, because
of the way a kitchen drain is designed (so that stuff doesn't
go down it, I guess).

On Saturday, July 20, 2013 3:51:56 PM UTC-7, Danny D wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:51:22 -0700, Higgs Boson wrote:



Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.



To answer the question, I've never had to snake my own kitchen

sink; but I've twice had to help a friend who throws all sorts

of stuff down the drain.



So, in *my* humble experience, zero to once every couple of

years is how long (depending on how much crud you put in the

sink).



Having said that, I can't figure out how to snake a kitchen sink

*without* disassembling at least the basket, which means the

pipes, which means I don't bother snaking simply because once

you've taken the plumbing apart, you can *see* the clogs and

push them out with your finger.



So, I ask the OP ... what did the plumber use to snake the

kitchen sink? Presumably one side has a garbage disposal (which

to my knowledge, can't be snaked); while the other side has

a basket, which would take a mighty thin snake (e.g., a coat

hanger-thick wire) without disassembly.

I didn't look at the business end of the snake, but I don't THINK it was like the picture of the bit that another poster put on this thread.

I couldn't snake the kitchen sink because of the built-in "basket". he mickey-mouse snake I bought at a homeowner place was useless. Disposal was not at fault.

Plumber went in through the *outside* drain as usual. While waiting for him I unscrewed plug to let the yeccch water out of the sink (probably nourished the plant nearby!). Used sink sparingly; water flowed freely out into the ground.

A few weeks earlier, I had had plumber out to deal with a pinhole leak in ancient pipe under sink. He replaced that old cast-iron plus another under sink pipe, so the backup wouldn't have been due to those. It was down the line.

HB

On Sunday, July 21, 2013 1:40:45 AM UTC-7, Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:51:22 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson

wrote:



Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.



Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge?



That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years.



I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar.



Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation.

He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer.



Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?



TIA



HB





Do you have a dishwasher that drains to the sink? That's a good way

to flush with soapy hot water. I almost never have drains clog. Been

in this house over 30 years and nothing's ever clogged. I attribute

that to the fact that I run warm and hot water liberally down my

drains and don't put grease in them. Like you I scrape it into the

garbage. Don't use coffee grounds, don't use drain cleaners, .. I

just ignore the "save water" folks and run plenty of hot water turn

the pipes to rinse stuff off and out. Been the same in every house

I've lived in. Many of them were turned into rentals when I moved on

and my tenants can get clogged drains in less than a year in the same

house I lived in for 5 years with never a clogged drain.

Sounds like we use the same moderation, so I don't know how to explain ****two snakings**** within 4-1/2 months!!! I asked & asked him whether he had encountered any special resistance but he said no. I didn't think to ask how far down he had gone. Bottom line was that water was draining freely after snaking.

HB

On Sunday, July 21, 2013 11:21:25 PM UTC-7, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Sunday, July 21, 2013 1:40:45 AM UTC-7, Ashton Crusher wrote:

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:51:22 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson



wrote:







Had to call plumber to snake kitchen sink.







Looked back in check book-- had it done in FEBRUARY! Each time, plumber said it was grease and ? sludge?







That is TOO OFTEN! Never used to need it more than every 3-4 years.







I try very hard NOT to put grease down the sink! I scrape grease into the garbage can before I soak fry pan in soap & water. I hardly use disposal at all; scrape food into compost jar.







Asked plumber what I could put down drain periodically to remedy situation.



He suggested bleach. I asked how much & how dilute, if at all. Didn't get clear answer.







Group, what has been your experience? What do you recommend?







TIA







HB











Do you have a dishwasher that drains to the sink? That's a good way



to flush with soapy hot water. I almost never have drains clog. Been



in this house over 30 years and nothing's ever clogged. I attribute



that to the fact that I run warm and hot water liberally down my



drains and don't put grease in them. Like you I scrape it into the



garbage. Don't use coffee grounds, don't use drain cleaners, .. I



just ignore the "save water" folks and run plenty of hot water turn



the pipes to rinse stuff off and out. Been the same in every house



I've lived in. Many of them were turned into rentals when I moved on



and my tenants can get clogged drains in less than a year in the same



house I lived in for 5 years with never a clogged drain.



Sounds like we use the same moderation, so I don't know how to explain ****two snakings**** within 4-1/2 months!!! I asked & asked him whether he had encountered any special resistance but he said no. I didn't think to ask how far down he had gone. Bottom line was that water was draining freely after snaking.


HB

Addendum:

Several answers on this thread about what to put down drain to forestall problems.

One said boiling water. One said rock salt mixture. One said powdered ?? from homeowner store. (Incidentally, someone told me once that plumbers love to have you use those drain cleaners because it makes work for them. ***IS THIS TRUE?***

Finally, ******what about plumber's recommendation of bleach?******

TX for all the help.

HB

"Higgs Boson" wrote in message

Addendum:

Several answers on this thread about what to put down
drain to forestall problems.

One said boiling water. One said rock salt mixture. One
said powdered ?? from homeowner store. (Incidentally,
someone told me once that plumbers love to have you use
those drain cleaners because it makes work for them.
***IS THIS TRUE?***

Finally, ******what about plumber's recommendation of
bleach?******

1. Hot water - REALLY hot water - *may* help liquify grease. Hot water +
detergent would do better.

2. I guess rock salt might help if you have plant roots under your sink (to
kill the plants).

3. I don't know what "powdered ??" is.

4. Bleach would kill most of the germs; the one's it didn't kill would then
begin reproducing like mad. Beyond that, it won't do squat.

If you want to dissolve organic matter - grease, hair, food particles,
whatever - lye is the thing. Lye in the form of crystalline Drano. Follow
the instructions, it won't hurt your pipes

FWIW, in 60 years I have never had a kitchen sink stop up. Bathroom,
yes...hair down the draun which Drano promptly ate up.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On Sunday, July 21, 2013 7:09:55 AM UTC-4, Red Green wrote:
TimR wrote in

:



On Saturday, July 20, 2013 6:53:38 PM UTC-4, Danny D. wrote:

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 21:55:02 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:







Also don't use hot water when using disposal unit.







Why not?



Garbage disposers are not made for continuous duty and rely on cold

water to cool the motor. Hot water allows the heat to build up and

shortens the life, sometimes dramatically.



No sale.

I dunno. That's what I've been told, and it seemed to make sense. I've seen disposals run for longer periods, like when cleaning up after a large holiday meal, and they do get hot and sometimes shut down. There are lots of applications where motors are undersized or undercooled and can only run intermittently without overheating - think cheap drills or saws e.g.

But I can't prove it.

Of course when the disposal isn't running you can dump hot water down, but when it's turned on I only use cold.

On Sun, 21 Jul 2013 23:17:36 -0700, Higgs Boson wrote:

I couldn't snake the kitchen sink because of the
built-in "basket".

Exactly. You can try a coat hanger, or any number of
long thin objects - but - otherwise - you have to take
*something* apart to snake the kitchen sinks I know.

The mickey-mouse snake I bought at a homeowner place
was useless. Disposal was not at fault.

Seems to me, the cost of a plumber, far (far) outweighs
the cost of good equipment.

I don't know what good equipment might be, but the guys
here certainly do.

For me, that's the following:
1. An assortment of plumbing wrenches from the plumbing
tools section at Home Depot (approximately $100)
2. A 25 foot (drill mounted) snake (approximately $20)
3. A 50 foot hand snake (approximately $15)
4. A 75 foot motor operated snake (approximately $300)

My total costs are less than $500 and I *think* I can
handle almost any clog that I'll be hit with.

How much did that one plumbing visit cost you?

On Monday, July 22, 2013 2:05:34 PM UTC-7, Danny D. wrote:
On Sun, 21 Jul 2013 23:17:36 -0700, Higgs Boson wrote:



I couldn't snake the kitchen sink because of the

built-in "basket".



Exactly. You can try a coat hanger, or any number of

long thin objects - but - otherwise - you have to take

*something* apart to snake the kitchen sinks I know.



The mickey-mouse snake I bought at a homeowner place

was useless. Disposal was not at fault.



Seems to me, the cost of a plumber, far (far) outweighs

the cost of good equipment.



I don't know what good equipment might be, but the guys

here certainly do.



For me, that's the following:

1. An assortment of plumbing wrenches from the plumbing

tools section at Home Depot (approximately $100)

2. A 25 foot (drill mounted) snake (approximately $20)

3. A 50 foot hand snake (approximately $15)

4. A 75 foot motor operated snake (approximately $300)



My total costs are less than $500 and I *think* I can

handle almost any clog that I'll be hit with.



How much did that one plumbing visit cost you?

$50.00. That's on par with the whole "roto-rooter" category of large drain opening companies. I checked prices in this area.

I preferred to use the boss of this small operation -- whom I had used before -- rather than taking potluck with a worker hired by one of the biggies who might or might not be as qualified.

Thanks for info about tools. If I ran an apt. rental I might consider stocking up on the tools you mention, but it's just my own home.

UB

On Monday, July 22, 2013 5:18:21 AM UTC-7, dadiOH wrote:
"Higgs Boson" wrote in message



Addendum:



Several answers on this thread about what to put down

drain to forestall problems.



One said boiling water. One said rock salt mixture. One

said powdered ?? from homeowner store. (Incidentally,

someone told me once that plumbers love to have you use

those drain cleaners because it makes work for them.

***IS THIS TRUE?***



Finally, ******what about plumber's recommendation of

bleach?******



1. Hot water - REALLY hot water - *may* help liquify grease. Hot water +

detergent would do better.



2. I guess rock salt might help if you have plant roots under your sink (to

kill the plants).



3. I don't know what "powdered ??" is.



4. Bleach would kill most of the germs; the one's it didn't kill would then

begin reproducing like mad. Beyond that, it won't do squat.



If you want to dissolve organic matter - grease, hair, food particles,

whatever - lye is the thing. Lye in the form of crystalline Drano. Follow

the instructions, it won't hurt your pipes



FWIW, in 60 years I have never had a kitchen sink stop up. Bathroom,

yes...hair down the draun which Drano promptly ate up.

Only hair down drain chez moi is in the shower(s) Should I put boiling water or??? down those drains as a precaution?

Re" too-frequent kitchen snaking, I would love to find SOMEBODY to blame. Since I'm so careful about grease, etc. and rarely use the disposal, it might have been someone who stayed here from March through June, but I'll never know; it never occurred to me to monitor their kitchen habits.

Would also like to find someone to blame for the just-finished expen$ive bathroom sink job. However, the (*&&^%$ blocking the ancient cast iron? pipe removed from under the house must go back to the Pleistocene. Just my luck to get stuck with the resultant build-up.

Now I hope the plumbing Gods will find someone else to afflict...at least for a while!

HB

TimR wrote in
:

On Sunday, July 21, 2013 7:09:55 AM UTC-4, Red Green wrote:
TimR wrote in

:



On Saturday, July 20, 2013 6:53:38 PM UTC-4, Danny D. wrote:

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 21:55:02 -0600, Tony Hwang wrote:







Also don't use hot water when using disposal unit.







Why not?



Garbage disposers are not made for continuous duty and rely on cold

water to cool the motor. Hot water allows the heat to build up and

shortens the life, sometimes dramatically.



No sale.

I dunno. That's what I've been told, and it seemed to make sense.
I've seen disposals run for longer periods, like when cleaning up
after a large holiday meal, and they do get hot and sometimes shut
down. There are lots of applications where motors are undersized or
undercooled and can only run intermittently without overheating -
think cheap drills or saws e.g.

But I can't prove it.

Of course when the disposal isn't running you can dump hot water down,
but when it's turned on I only use cold.


Well, I only run cold or warm with the disposer anyway so I can't prove
or disprove it. We'll call it a draw :-)

Sure doesn't overheat when I toss ice cubes down to clean the crap out.
Sure purrrrs when it's done.

"dadiOH" wrote in :

"Higgs Boson" wrote in message

Addendum:

Several answers on this thread about what to put down
drain to forestall problems.

One said boiling water. One said rock salt mixture. One
said powdered ?? from homeowner store. (Incidentally,
someone told me once that plumbers love to have you use
those drain cleaners because it makes work for them.
***IS THIS TRUE?***

Finally, ******what about plumber's recommendation of
bleach?******

1. Hot water - REALLY hot water - *may* help liquify grease. Hot
water + detergent would do better.

Dawn seems to be the grease cutter liquid soap. My experience + what I've
read. Wipe grease out with a paper towel. Toss some Dawn and hot water in
the pan. Let it sit for some hours or overnight. Virtually all that was
stuck on can be rinsed out. If I happen to cook, things can be tougher to
remove. Some are considered field destroyed :-(


2. I guess rock salt might help if you have plant roots under your
sink (to kill the plants).

3. I don't know what "powdered ??" is.

4. Bleach would kill most of the germs; the one's it didn't kill would
then begin reproducing like mad. Beyond that, it won't do squat.

If you want to dissolve organic matter - grease, hair, food particles,
whatever - lye is the thing. Lye in the form of crystalline Drano.
Follow the instructions, it won't hurt your pipes

FWIW, in 60 years I have never had a kitchen sink stop up. Bathroom,
yes...hair down the draun which Drano promptly ate up.

On Mon, 22 Jul 2013 14:21:30 -0700, Higgs Boson wrote:

How much did that one plumbing visit cost you?

$50.00.

Holy cow! Out here, *nothing* is even close to $50.

Actually, I've *never* called one, but, I can't believe
it wouldn't be a few hundred just to get them to show up
at the door.

At $50, that's practically free, so, I'd call the plumber
every time something went wrong - if those prices are
the norm.

(Where the heck do you live that a service
is *that* cheap? Just their SS taxes and expenses are far
far far far greater than $50 per hour where I live).

EDIT: Googling, I find plumbers are $75 to $150 per hour,
and, I'd be surprised if I could get one that cheap:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7124117AABbNLj

On Monday, July 22, 2013 4:04:40 PM UTC-7, Danny D. wrote:
On Mon, 22 Jul 2013 14:21:30 -0700, Higgs Boson wrote:



How much did that one plumbing visit cost you?



$50.00.



Holy cow! Out here, *nothing* is even close to $50.



Actually, I've *never* called one, but, I can't believe

it wouldn't be a few hundred just to get them to show up

at the door.



At $50, that's practically free, so, I'd call the plumber

every time something went wrong - if those prices are

the norm.



(Where the heck do you live that a service

is *that* cheap? Just their SS taxes and expenses are far

far far far greater than $50 per hour where I live).



EDIT: Googling, I find plumbers are $75 to $150 per hour,

and, I'd be surprised if I could get one that cheap:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7124117AABbNLj

Maybe it's because he's the owner and does ONLY snaking drains? This is his 2nd visit, same price. Note that I checked out "roto-rooter"-type companies on-line and they ran about the same for (I assume) simple snaking. I preferred this single-owner guy who, I think, had better skills.

I'm surprised that you're surprised at the price. because this is an affluent small city where everything costs more.

On the high side -- I think? - it cost me $645 for a licensed plumber to remove and replace an ancient cast iron pipe that was stopping up the bathroom sink. Involved going into the crawl space under the house. You don't want to know what the corpse looked like ...ewwww.

%645 seems like a LOT of money to me! But what were my choices? This plumber was recommended by a friend,. Earlier he had charged only $59.50 to fix a leak under kitchen sink (involved removing ANOTHER ancient cast-iron pipe!).

HB

On Tue, 23 Jul 2013 15:39:14 -0700, Higgs Boson wrote:

$645 seems like a LOT of money to me!
But what were my choices?

$100 to $300 in tools (which are amortized over jobs)
$100 to $200 for a camera (so you can ask good questions)
$100 in parts (but you get *good* parts for that price!)
$45/year for a USENET subscription to alt.home.repair
-----------
$645