Amazing drain cleaner

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Oldtom

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I normally stay away from chemical drain cleaners, preferring to use a snake. I had a slow draining kitchen sink in a home with 1970 vintage galvanized plumbing. The piping was partially blocked with rust, and, the genius builder ran the drain pipes under the concrete slab. Replacement would be expensive. I was able to clear out some of the loose rust with a piece of 1/2 inch pipe duct taped into a shop vac hose. I snaked the line several times with no improvement in flow. I did pull out a lot of hair and other crud.

I went to a local hardware store for a gallon of conventional lye based drain cleaner. The hardware store guy said he had something way better. He sold me a quart bottle of Rooto drain cleaner. This stuff is concentrated sulfuric acid. Safety goggles and gloves are required with this foul smelling brew. I dumped the entire quart down the drain and waited five minutes, per the instructions.

I now have a free flowing drain for 12 bucks! This stuff works, but, handle it with care.
 
It surely ate up some of the rust flakes, as well as some of the good metal that remained in your pipe.
 
Great, and way cheaper then calling a Plumber.

I've never had a Drain Pipe clogged, probably because I'm extra careful what goes into them.

But as a preventive measure, once a year I will pour in some (very weak) drain-cleaner.
The stuff I buy (Home Depot) has enzymes and works very slowly (as in over-night).

Also, I filter the Washing Machine waste water thru a 100 micron filter (Mc Master-Carr)
 
If it didn't work and you had to call a plumber or drain company, they don't like working on systems that have s**t like that poured in them.
 
Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
Great, and way cheaper then calling a Plumber.


The stuff I buy (Home Depot) has enzymes and works very slowly (as in over-night).



Why are you keeping that enzyme product a secret?
 
Bleach in high enough concentrations to flush out the water in the drain will take care of dissolving most blockages that are cellulose like paper or organic because it's a great oxidizer but it needs time to work.
It will eat through paper products, hair, soap scum, grease, fat, and #2's without causing damage to your plumbing over the long-term. The key is getting enough in the drain to displace the water already in the drain and then letting it sit.

Once a month I will pour a generous amount down the shower drain and sink drains and let it stand over night, I have 0 issues with my drains and we pour bacon fat down them quite regularly (along with hot water before/after though) we also have a back flow preventer on the line and it never seems to need cleaning when inspected yearly.

See Bleach dissolving hair here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTUb8fWD5pU
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by StevieC
Bleach in high enough concentrations to flush out the water in the drain will take care of dissolving most blockages that are cellulose like paper or organic because it's a great oxidizer but it needs time to work.
It will eat through paper products, hair, soap scum, grease, fat, and #2's without causing damage to your plumbing over the long-term. The key is getting enough in the drain to displace the water already in the drain and then letting it sit.

Once a month I will pour a generous amount down the shower drain and sink drains and let it stand over night, I have 0 issues with my drains and we pour bacon fat down them quite regularly (along with hot water before/after though) we also have a back flow preventer on the line and it never seems to need cleaning when inspected yearly.

See Bleach dissolving hair here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTUb8fWD5pU


Did not know that - thanks for posting and sharing the video!
 
Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
Great, and way cheaper then calling a Plumber.


The stuff I buy (Home Depot) has enzymes and works very slowly (as in over-night).



Why are you keeping that enzyme product a secret?

There are several (milder) drain cleaners at HD.
I just read the label advertising and go from there.
I think they pretty much all work the same if they have the enzymes.
 
Originally Posted by gathermewool
Did not know that - thanks for posting and sharing the video!


I really valued the time I spent at the big chemical companies I worked for that manufactured products for Janitorial/Sanitation purposes. I learned a heck of a lot while I was there about this sort of stuff as well as more than I ever wanted to know about pathogens and disinfection in critical places like Hospitals. (Scary)

Glad I could help.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by StevieC
Originally Posted by gathermewool
Did not know that - thanks for posting and sharing the video!


I really valued the time I spent at the big chemical companies I worked for that manufactured products for Janitorial/Sanitation purposes. I learned a heck of a lot while I was there about this sort of stuff as well as more than I ever wanted to know about pathogens and disinfection in critical places like Hospitals. (Scary)

Glad I could help.



cheers3.gif
 
If your waste water goes into a sewage treatment plant, use chemicals. If it goes into a leeching field, the last thing you want to do is kill off the bacteria digesting it.
grin2.gif
 
Rooto is an amazing drain cleaner. Doesn't really have the capability of cutting down iron in significant amounts. I used to use it clear out plugged iron marine exhaust parts. Never changed the cast surfaces by any noticable amount. Just revealed them by blasting away the rust and crud.

Rooto will eat nearly anything. My big AC unit has a drain line (under a concrete slab, my garage) that is beyond the help of merely flushing. I'm debating whether to use Rooto or citric acid for that. Whatever comes out is going to end up on my lawn on the other side, so I am way leaning towards citric or muriatic acid. Never investigated biodegradability of Rooto, so it might actually be a viable solution.
 
Gradient - yes, it is a rental. No telling what my special snowflakes put in the drains and toilet. My "favorite" so far was a ham bone flushed down the toilet. The thing jammed in the trap and I had to remove the toilet, flip it upside down, and drive the ham bone out with a hammer and piece of 1 by 2. I was amazed the toilet did not break. The bone was just the right size to wedge solidly.


The money from owning rentals is secondary to the amazing stories :-)
 
Originally Posted by Oldtom
Gradient - yes, it is a rental. No telling what my special snowflakes put in the drains and toilet. My "favorite" so far was a ham bone flushed down the toilet. The thing jammed in the trap and I had to remove the toilet, flip it upside down, and drive the ham bone out with a hammer and piece of 1 by 2. I was amazed the toilet did not break. The bone was just the right size to wedge solidly.


The money from owning rentals is secondary to the amazing stories :-)


Yeah, rentals are fun. I always like to say I've heard everything, but I actually haven't so I just stop myself and say I've heard lots of things and I'm sure I'll hear some new ones eventually.

Here's one for February from a tenant that was late with the rent:

I forgot February was such a short month.

When was it ever a long month?
 
Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
Great, and way cheaper then calling a Plumber.


The stuff I buy (Home Depot) has enzymes and works very slowly (as in over-night).



Why are you keeping that enzyme product a secret?

There's no secret. I've got some Zep Enforcer Drain Care that I bought at Home Depot. There might be a similar Drano product, although I think it's a liquid only. Here are current Zep enzyme treatments that HD carries.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ZEP-18-...emover-Powder-Case-of-12-ZDC16/202751747

[Linked Image]


https://www.homedepot.com/p/ZEP-18-oz-Drain-Care-Build-Up-Remover-ZDC16/100014771

[Linked Image]


I've used a powder and a liquid. The powder seems to be made of some sort of treated sawdust. Not sure if the current one has bacteria in it, but the one I bought did. I believe the idea is that the sawdust particles stick to whatever slime is built up.

And I've opened up a few pipes for various reasons that hadn't been treated in a while and I have see the slime build up. The enzyme treatments aren't really going to work on hair. That takes physical removal or strong chemicals. The enzymes work on something really slimy, which is a combination of soap, oil, food, etc that turns into this weird gunk that can be anywhere from light gray to black. The treatments that combine bacteria and enzymes are supposed to maintain buildup prevention as the bacteria break down any slime.

But this is what it looks like:

[Linked Image]
 
I can recall my father using a dry granular form of Rooto around fifty plus years ago through the lowest cleanout in our house.
Whatever problems we had in the waste line out to the sewer were cured by it.
I too prefer a snake, since most clogs seem to involve hair or fiber, but there is probably a place for strong chemicals in clearing drains.
I've found ammonia to work well on kitchen sink grease clogs, but some of the replies above make me think that bleach would be worth a try as well.
 
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