I subscribe to a Youtube channel of a guy who does nothing but clean drains with a pressure washer setup and have looked at doing similar work on my own house and it’s actually pretty reasonable (like $120). I’m sure OP spent more in time and money than that and could have possibly damage their plumbing with the chemical cocktails.
Comment on Fixing my drain required breaking laws, pissing off IRC users, breaking tools…
thecitywelivein@lemm.ee 1 year ago
How many times did you think “I should hire someone” but then you remembered how expensive it would be.
CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 1 year ago
diyrebel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
It’s a kitchen drain but not like in the US. Garbage disposals are banned here. So there would be no way for wipes, qtips, or anything big to enter the drain. It’s a terraced house in a dense city, so no trees, which likely rules out roots.
The city water is /very/ hard, and past residents likely put plenty of oil down the drain. Every time the drain regurgitates something, it’s a stinky white substance that looks like it has coffee grounds. I know not to put oil or coffee down the drain but past residents are another story. So I think a mass of fat, coffee, and minerals from the hard water could be culprits.
WRT using a pressure washer, I think they would be an option if there were a cleanout with a straight shot. That youtuber would probably be paralyzed when coming into a ridiculous series of tight 90s and no cleanout or vent, and possibly goffered pipes.
shalafi@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Garbage disposals are banned here.
Just asked you about sulphuric acid and now this? What’s the reasoning behind that ban? Keeps organic waste out of the system?
diyrebel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
Exactly… that was constantly on my mind. Last time I hired a plumber to fix a leak while I was away, the plumber was incompetent. Did not find the leak (which was in /exposed/ pipework), charged 200 cash and ran with the money.
My way of thinking is that I’m going to learn something & my tooling costs will be less than a plumber. I’ll “own” the problem for the next time. This one about drove me to the edge, considering I was about to experiment with borderline parasites.
A pro would have had an expensive snake cam… so there’s that. I would not want to put my own snake cam down the pipe because it’s not made for such filthy environments… would likely ruin the cam.
shalafi@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Where do you live that sulfuric acid is illegal?! It’s a basic chemical, I use it all the time. Tried some last night in an ultrasonic cleaner last night. (Didn’t work for that project. 🤷🏻♂️) You can go to the auto store and get a 5-gallon bucket.
And talk about environmentally neutral, doesn’t get much better. I forget the chemistry term, but it “dilutes” in water instantly. That is to say, it ain’t sulfuric acid anymore. When I’m working with it, I just leave the tap running in case of a spill. Or, just throw baking soda on it, receive water and carbon dioxide.
Most of mine comes from draining old car batteries. If I have to give the battery back for proper recycling and get my $10 back, I’m keeping the acid. What if you do that? Illegal to buy, own or both?