Clogged Drain Pipes

I must be missing something here...I grew up in an old farmhouse with 6 people living in it, zero drain clogs that I can recall. My mom and dad have lived in their house for 20 years, no clogs. My house has some very old plumbing in it, in the five years that we have lived here we have had no problems.

Perhaps water quality has something to do with it. We have always had softened water.

Rob R. wrote:I must be missing something here...I grew up in an old farmhouse with 6 people living in it, zero drain clogs that I can recall. My mom and dad have lived in their house for 20 years, no clogs. My house has some very old plumbing in it, in the five years that we have lived here we have had no problems.

It's all about the females their longer hair and all the hair products that go with them.

I am with Rob. My wife sheds a dog each week, and in our house in Maine and this one in Tenn. I have never had a drain clog. I also have never ever heard of 2 much pitch in a pipe causing a problem???? I'd have that bitch pitched at a *45 degree angle if I could!

Kevin

The drain clogs stopped for me once I instructed my wife to pick the hair out of the tub drain after EVERY shower. I do the same. Her hair is close to 5' long, so if she skips a day, I'll know about it.

5' feet????? Holy tiny horsepecker! That is a virtual forest. I knew a girl who had hair nearly that long growing from her nostrils!!!! That was Germany...so no comparison!

BWAHAHAA! Better than some other orifices I suppose ....

Mine is (wives) moderately long, but you would swear she should be bald. It is everywhere! But the drains don't protest, so neither do I.

Kevin

These things work great for cleaning hair out of a bathtub drain ...
http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-00412BL-Zip- ... B000BO9204

I get them at Home Depot

Rob R. wrote:I must be missing something here...I grew up in an old farmhouse with 6 people living in it, zero drain clogs that I can recall. My mom and dad have lived in their house for 20 years, no clogs. My house has some very old plumbing in it, in the five years that we have lived here we have had no problems.

Perhaps water quality has something to do with it. We have always had softened water.

It is the hair and all the soft soap products. My buddy the plumber told me about this years ago and just said drop boiling water down the pipes every so often and that should keep them clean. It does work but it is just a regiment I have not been able to maintain with so many other things that need tending to.

KLook wrote:I am with Rob. My wife sheds a dog each week, and in our house in Maine and this one in Tenn. I have never had a drain clog. I also have never ever heard of 2 much pitch in a pipe causing a problem???? I'd have that bitch pitched at a *45 degree angle if I could!

Kevin

Kevin, if the drains are pitched more than 1/4" per foot the water can run away from the solid materials it is carrying. Materials in the water move slower than the water can.
I was piping a buddies flip house after work and on Saturdays. I was doing it as a favor to him and he decided that he and his dad could sell the house sooner if they finished the plumbing. I had the master bath and guest bath finished all there was to do was to run the new drain piping from the stack to the new powder room and connect it to the sewer. They finished it up. They went to sell it and the buyers wanted an inspection, the inspector found the over pitched piping that they installed and the buyers knocked off the price of the replacement of the piping from their bid. At the time the housing market was very soft around here and the buyers had been the only ones interested in it. He sold the house to them but lost profit because he got in a hurry.
Dan.

NWBuilder wrote:

Rob R. wrote:I must be missing something here...I grew up in an old farmhouse with 6 people living in it, zero drain clogs that I can recall. My mom and dad have lived in their house for 20 years, no clogs. My house has some very old plumbing in it, in the five years that we have lived here we have had no problems.

Perhaps water quality has something to do with it. We have always had softened water.

It is the hair and all the soft soap products. My buddy the plumber told me about this years ago and just said drop boiling water down the pipes every so often and that should keep them clean. It does work but it is just a regiment I have not been able to maintain with so many other things that need tending to.

Do you have low-flow shower heads installed?

.....

Yes Rob I do have low flow shower heads.

franco b wrote:Shop Vac sells a plastic tube along with an adapter to slip into a trap to clean.

Franco is right.. This is the best way of preventive maintenance on drains. I don't use the adapter. I just stick the shop vac hose into the drain and suck the hell out of it. It works fantastic! Try it! For problem drains, do it at least once a month. I would bet a paycheck you'll never have a clogged drain due to hair or tooth paste/soap scum again...

NWBuilder wrote:Yes Rob I do have low flow shower heads.

I am wondering if that makes a bad situation worse...but that wouldn't explain the bathroom sink drain. Do they wash their hair in the sink?

My wife has her own shower with a spa-style shower head, that thing really throws some water. 3 years and the drain still works excellent.