"An old plumber told how to get rid of the blockage and forget about the problem for a long time" Review of methods

  • Jan 13, 2022

Sometimes, reading the advice of plumbers on the net, my "balls for rollers" come in. What pseudo experts will not write in order to attract the attention of readers. I am well aware that most of the advice is fictitious and rewritten many times. I can’t look at it calmly and decided to open a rubric "Crazy Plumber Advice" where we will consider each life hack separately and make our verdict on the proposed actions.

Hello friends, my name is Victor and I am the author of the channel "Plumbing called". I have worked as a plumber for over 15 years and have a clear eye for many things in the industry.
Photo by the author
Photo by the author
Photo by the author

Well let's get started friends.

First of all, on the net, there are constantly crazy ideas of "plumbers" about clearing blockages:

1) Laundry detergent against blockages

"In order to clear the blockage in the sink, you need to pour washing powder into the hole of the washbasin or sink, overnight."

Why overnight? But not for the whole day? And how to fill the powder if there is already water in the sink?

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"The next morning you should open the water in the sink, wash off the powder, along with the powder, the blockage is washed off."

As they say "dead poultice" after such actions, the blockage will not be washed off and the sewer through hole will not increase, only the water with the powder will merge in vain. In a regular washing powder, there are no active substances that break fatty plugs and dissolve hair.

Photo by the author
Photo by the author

2) Baking soda and vinegar

"To remove the fatty plug in the siphon, it is necessary to pour half a glass of soda into the receiving neck of the sink, then pour a glass of vinegar. A violent reaction will begin, you should close the siphon hole with a cork or towel so that the substances penetrate into the sewer pipes.

In this case, carbon dioxide is released, which, when the drain is closed, will push through part of the blockage and no more, it will not wash away the fat and will not remove the hair. With the same success, you can use a plunger, which in the same way and even better pumps pressure into the problem area.

“Next, you should rinse the soda and vinegar with boiling water, the blockage will be washed down the drain.

A fictitious plumber recommends us. In fact, it is impossible to remove the entire fatty plug with boiling water without additional special tools.

Photo by the author
Photo by the author

In fact, real plumbing tips

  • In order to actually clean the blockage in the siphon, remove fat and hair from it, then this device should be removed, disassembled, washed. Collect back and install.
  • If you are too lazy to remove the siphon and want to flush the pipes, then granular products based on caustic soda are sold in stores. No need to buy expensive gels and branded cleaning powders. They have the same composition as the cheap ones. Just read the instructions carefully
  • Do not be stingy, buy a cable for cleaning pipes, it will help you in a difficult "hour" to break through a blockage in the pipeline.
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Friends, what kind of "crazy advice from plumbers" have you met on the Internet? Write in the comments.

From SW. Plumber Mikhailov Viktor