Slow draining sinks

[Wa_Pilgrim]

Has anyone had a slow draining kitchen or bathroom sink or shower and used a commercial drain cleaner. Is this safe to the pipes and to the sensors in the tank?

[exav8tr]

I would prefer not to use the liquid stuff. I have had the slow draining sinks and taken off the traps at the bottom and cleaned them out and problem solved. They just screw on and off, just place a bucket or large bowl underneath when you pull them off.

[camper4]

I am concerned about the discharge seals for the holding tanks. I take the traps apart and clean them. Messy job but I don't worry about what strong chemicals might do to the overall system.

[Rondo]

Julie-- You didn't mention what model or year your unit is but I would have to go with Phil on this one! They say the use of commercial drain cleaners will not hurt the pipes and that may be true but what about the seals in the tanks? I'd do as Phil said and remove the traps first to see if they are plugged at all. You can also use a glunger on them, just be easy with them, you don't want to blow a connection somewhere down the line. If they are in good shape you might want to check the vent pipes and see if they may be plugged with something. I've heard of some of them being partially plugged from the factory with debris. Keep us up to date on this and let us know what you find out about the slow draining drains.

[Waynem]

There is a little gizmo called a "Sink Snake," and can be purchased at "As Seen On TV" stores and some hardware stores. It is less than $10 and will get down into the trap of the drain and pull "stuff" out. I hate plumbing so much. I would give it a try before pulling apart anything in a plumbing system.

[Rondo]

Good idea Wayne! The instrument you talked about can be purchased at any hardware store or stoe like Home Depot, Lowes or Menards. It's normally in the plumbing section and either comes in a long plastic sawtooth type rod or a twisted wire type rod with prongs on it to catch all the stuff in the trap and then you pull it back up the drain and dispose of it. Be sure you have a bucket or something to put it in. As Wayne says it is not the best of smelling stuff either!

[Wa_Pilgrim]

Thanks all for the advise. We just let the holding tank fill up to the sink and then drained it. It drained with a nice swirl of water. Draining fine now. Thanks again.