My kitchen sink will sometimes run slow. As of right now I am not in a position to take the drain apart.
So my question is, do chemical drain openers really work and if so what do you recommend.

Thanks

There are mixed opinions on that. Depends on what is clogging the drain. Plumbers helper followed by a snake usually does the trick.

They can work, but they're not a magic bullet for every drain issue. Still, it's a simple approach that's worth trying before resorting to other measures (if necessary).

I would not. If it drains, suggest you wait until you do have time to properly diagnose with P-trap removal. Check the tailstock (horizontal pipe in the cabinet wall) carefully.

A steady dose of really hot water will help keep a line clear if run often.

I've had pretty good luck with a product called Thrift.

https://www.amazon.com/Thrift-...d_bap_d_rp_11_i&th=1

Get a small plunger, the size for that drain. Put the chemicals down there and let them sit for a while.
Then run hot water through there and then use the plunger.
Works good on a shower drain too.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
I've had pretty good luck with a product called Thrift.

https://www.amazon.com/Thrift-...d_bap_d_rp_11_i&th=1

Thrift works great.

^^^^^^^^^^^
Most drain cleaners strongly advise against plunger use since the chemicals are caustic and cause severe burns on contact.

No they don't in my experience.

Be very cautious if you use them in conjunction with a plunger or other tool - you don't want a face full of caustic chemicals

I have also used Thrift with great success. It was a bathroom sink drain, running very slowly. Assuming hair and soap scum were the culprits. Treated with Thrift and it drained like new.

A cheap method is to use some baking soda with vinegar.

I just use about a cup of Dawn, and plunger. Loosens things up.

I looked it up, Thrift is sodium hydroxide, aka Caustic Soda or Lye.

If this chemical is OK for typical drian harware and pipes, why don't plumbers use it for clearing drains ?

Or do they ?

Hot water, then pour in a cup of Dawn, let it sit, come back in 30 min..the soap gets into and around the clog and usually will clear it.

If that doesn’t work, get a snake. My dad recommended against drain cleaner chemicals because invariably you will get lye on yourself….no bueno.

If it’s a sink that one of the ladies in the house use, it’s hair, and the growing glop associated with long hair. And only physically removing it will make it go away.

I am not big on drain cleaner chemicals. In my experience, not only do they not work very well, if at all, they often make the clog worse by loosening things up enough so that they can compact into an even tighter mass. If the clog is in the trap, I have found nothing better than those plastic strips with little teeth on them, like these, much less hassle than a traditional snake.

Our kitchen sink has a long run and needed cleaning about once a year. Head of maintenance for the local housing authority recommended Bio-Clean enzyme drain cleaner and we've gone over a year w/out problems (probably jinxed now )

Drain was clean when we started using Bio-Clean.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you follow "PROJECT FARM" on YouTube you will find a episode that addresses drain clogs and chemical remedy's to fix a clog.
As I remember, you must find what the problem is, Hair or grease then pick a drain opener that works on that problem.
For hair, its a LYE product.
I ordered a container of THRIFT to try, mostly because if its good enough for 6GUNS, Its good enough for me.
We have been using GREEN GOBBLER.
With my Wife and Daughter both having long hair, tub drains are always slow.

I use straight crystalized lye in the showers and sinks my wife and daughters use when they report they are running slow. My shower and sink don't have this problem... the problem is obviously long hair.

I simply pour some of the lye directly into the drain and leave it for 30 minutes to an hour or so. Whatever. After that, it is the hottest water I can get out of the pipe to flush it all away. It always works.

I've tried the "Liquid Plumber" stuff, though I figured it wouldn't work as well. I was right. I think the crystalized lye works so well because it gets caught up in the clog and sticks there whereas the liquid flows on by, slowly.

And it is fortunate because I keep a few 1lb containers of lye on hand for soap making anyways.

quote:

Originally posted by armored:
I ordered a container of THRIFT to try, mostly because if its good enough for 6GUNS, Its good enough for me.
We have been using GREEN GOBBLER.
With my Wife and Daughter both having long hair, tub drains are always slow.

Check your local hardware store. The ACE by me sells a 1lb container for about $5. Some Wal-Mart stores carry it too. Just read the bottle and see what it is.

Drain cleaners are usually either strong alkaline or strong acid.

The majority are strongly alkaline.

Plumbers hate them, if they don't clear the clog then the plumbers are stuck working with strong chemicals that can burn or blind on contact.

They work most of the time.
Read the label so you know what you are working with.

Have a neutralizer on hand in case of skin contact.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
A cheap method is to use some baking soda with vinegar.

This won’t do anything other than create bubbles. I’ve just never understood all the claims that mixing these cleans things or clears drains or any other myriad of cures. Vinegar and baking soda neutralize each other. On their own they can clean but together they can only power a bathtub submarine.