Expert: Jan Hayner - 12/24/2008

Question
Hi Jan,
Hope this is in your area of knowledge. Sounds like a simple thing, but I am a new home owner and know little.
A while ago my bathroom sink of clogged, and I put in a bottle of liquid plumber, which I was told never to do as it's bad for the pipes. Still clogged I ended up having my brother come in and get under the sink and he took out the pipe, declared I needed a new one, put it in and now 6 months later I'm having a slow draining sink. Any tips on regular maintenance to keep things moving. Anything I can do for this slow one for right now?
Thanking you in advance.
Best always, Mark

Answer
Hi Mark;
You may have more problems than just a slow drain. You could have roots in your drainage system and a ton of other things. However, if this is a continuing problem just in the bathroom sink, it is usually 'hair' that is the problem. It gets tangled up and doesn't slide down the drain properly because it fills with soap scum.

Try this (and it is good for pipes and drains) Pour 1/4 cup of baking soda down the drain, now pour 1 cup of vinegar (this will foam up and bubble. Let this sit overnight and then run water down the drain. Try this weekly for a while and see if this helps.

Another thing that you should do is get a drain filter for in your sink. You may have loose hair (from combing your hair over the sink) and whisker hair that are getting stuck in the soap scum and causing your problem.

Another thing that you can try to to get an Industrial 'snake' to put down the pipe and clean out the debris. You can rent one of these through most rental places in your area. Clean out the pipe as well as you can, you may have something stuck, further down the pipe too.

If this doesn't help and you still have problems, get a plumber because you could have deteriorating pipes that are causing problems from the inside of your pipes.

Good Luck James,
Jan Hayner