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Plumbing

Clogged Drain

Question: My bathroom sink drain repeatedly gets slow. I tried the Drano in the can, the one that sprays it down with a blast of air, and it worked. I figured it was as much the air as the Drano. Now when it gets slow, I take a little compressed air tank, put the nozzle down the drain in such as way as to make a seal, block the overflow with a finger and squeeze the trigger. Works every time and stays good for 6 weeks or so; is it possible that whoever put that piece of drainpipe in didn't slope it enough? It's been snaked and cleaned multiple times.

Answer: I would suspect your problem is a build-up inside the pipe or at the trap. What happens is, when you add the compressed air, Drano or snake, it makes a small opening through the grunge that is in the pipe, as soon as there is any opening the water flows and the Drano goes through the hole, after a short period of time that 1/2" or so hole gets clogged again.

The most common area for build-up is the trap, so I would suggest you remove the trap and clean it out. If that is not the problem area, from the drain side of the trap, insert a larger diameter snake.

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