Clean a Slow Drain

LESLIE: Michael in Pennsylvania is dealing with a slow drain. Tell us about your problem.

MICHAEL: Hey, I’ve got a slow drain situation; all copper pipes. It’s like an inch-and-three – well, I guess two-inch pipe. And I took a snake in there that I got from a Rent-a-Center and, you know, it’s the – it’s like a drill all hooked up; turn it on; it spins – and ran that in.

TOM: Right.

MICHAEL: That frees up a little bit but it’s still kind of slow. What’s the best way to chemically clean out a slow drain like that?

LESLIE: Well we’ve got a natural way for you to give a whirl first before you go ahead and try anything super harsh that could, you know, actually do some damage to the plumbing itself.

MICHAEL: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

LESLIE: You want to take one-half cup of each salt, baking soda and vinegar – the white vinegar – and pour that down the drain and then you follow it with two quarts of super boiling water and that’s going to sort of activate everything and get it to sort of foam up and clean its way down the drain itself. That should usually do the trick.

I’ve also found that Roto-Rooter makes a natural enzyme that comes in a liquid form that you mix with hot water and you do this once a month and that sort of helps loosen up all the goo and soap scum and hair and stuff that tends to build up down the drain as well and help move it along. It’s always better to try natural stuff first because the chemicals can be really harsh to the plumbing and end up causing a whole other host of problems.

MICHAEL: Right. Well, thank you very much. I’ll give that a shot.

TOM: You’re welcome, Michael. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.