Happy New Year to all my helpers. What do you think here?

[Paper Roses]

For the past week or so, all my house drains have been running slow. I used the plunger on everything. Not much good. Sunday, I went to HD and bought ZEP Drain Opener and Drain Care. Followed instructions, First(Sun) Drain Opener then, yesterday I started with Zep Drain Care. I have used the sequence suggested my the plummer at HD. I even used the Drain Opener in the washer drain pipe. Lets see, bath shower, sink and hopper in one; tub, sink, hopper in another bath. Kitchen dbl. sink, one side w/disposal. Then the washer drain pipe.
This AM, all seems to be going fine except the upstairs hopper. I just used the closet auger. That went fine, my first experience with that gizmo.

Seems to flush fine now.

My question. Do I continue with the Drain Care treatment for the next few days? All seems to be draining as it should. Would it be a waste of product or additional preventative?

Remember what I said about one-thing-after-another? Not kidding!

Thanks.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

1. No doubt the drain opener helped.

By your discription it seems to me your main line backed up.Using the drain care will break down the hard deposits in the drain line. I would concentrate on the main line. Do you have a clean out on the lower level that you can open?

And I would keep an eye on drainage ,the blockage may have just moved down the pipes thus leaving a bigger opening that may close back up. A snake will solve that problem ,if it still remains.May be vent blockage . That would require a snake.By the way if you need a snake,HD rents those. 50 or 75 foot electric snake will handle that.

Bottom line, if it works, than it works.

[Paper Roses]

2. Hi WsDJ, Boy am I a pest!!! You are all lifesavers!

I did the ZEP Drain Cleaner thing, Will continue the 3 day ZEP Drain Care routine. You were the one who suggested these things to be about a year ago. So far, so good.

I have in the cellar, a large sewer line capped off opening. I would need a huge wrench(which I have) to open a large hexagonal bolt(on the cap) type thingie to open it to use the snake. Mine is manual, not electric. The prospect of that job gives me the willies. UGG.

The sewer lines are god knows how old, we have been here since 1969 and never had any problem that required this type of work. My husband, at one time, had to snake out a sink drain because we were stupid enough to put rice down the disposal. Learned that lesson in a hurry. Anything expandable or fibrous does not go through the disposal.

In two days, I will assess the total picture and see how things go,-so-to-speak. If there is not a significant improvement, I guess I'll have to try the sewer line opening. Of all jobs around here that I have done these past months, this gives me the worst case of the willies.

What is it, from the sewer line, vent one way toward the street, sewer the other direction? How do I get to the vent line? Two hundred year old house, two hundred years of problems. The sewer accounts for about 100 years, I would guess.

PS, I do have 2 DIY books in my husbands old workshop. Probably should get them out. Actually, I will tomorrow. I saw them them today, I had forgotten they were there. There is so much I can do but this one is a little beyond my realm.

Again, Thanks

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

3. Drain care comes in a powder mix you mix up

in a bucket of hot water. If you can spray up the clean out access plug with wd40 real good ,spray it any number of times and let the stuff work it's way in ,than get somebody such as a neighbor to help you get the cap off. Sometimes on those old ones, I will use a assist bar on the wrench, thats a pipe that slips over the wrench -,it gives you leverage.

What I have done with the you mix it powder is mix it up in a five gallon bucket of hot water than poured it straight down the clean out access.This is done at night when there is little or no activity in the drain lines, or when client is on vacation. I have used that stuff on 80, 100 year old drain lines-, it does the job. Of course you never poor that kind of volume mix down sink drains inside the house. Straight down the main. Next morning-, run plenty of hot water. And using a severe treatment method ,I keep a electric 50 foot snake handy because of the build up. The drain care turns the hard deposit build up into a mush like material that runs down the pipe.

It is a three day treatment process.

However, you have already restored drainage flow, so you may be ok. If it's draining ok now,-it most likely is not the vent. And there is another product called main line drain cleaner. You might take a look at that stuff the next time you are at HD. Comes in a gallon container. Another one of those products you carefully fallow the directions when you use it. But you need direct access to main drain line to treat the pipes with that stuff.

Again ,since you restored drainage,you most likely don't need main line drain cleaner right now.And when going into the main line, you really need a electric snake suitable for 3/4/5/or 6 inch pipe.That would take at least a fifty footer, perhaps 75 or 100 footer. HD rents all three types for about fifty bucks for 24 hours.You may want to stop by HD's tool rental hut and have a look the next time you are there. Who knows, looking at all those tools might give ya some ideas for future projects! And is there somebody in your family you can call to get a little help with some of this stuff?

On those old drain caps, more than once I have had to drill holes in those old caps than take a hammer and chisel to work it loose. Other times I have had to cut the connection off than replace it. Depends on what you run into.

WD40.

Zep Drain Care u mix it is the same as pre mix but cost less. The u mix it stuff gives you a better shot at treating the main drain line. If it's pre mix, green in color,- when treating the main line ,I amy be inclined to use a whole bottle for each treatment. Whereas with the u mix it it just takes one bottle.Give it done three nights in a row, about 5 gallons of hot water to i/3 rd. bottle of u mix it.But I always two bottles of the u mix it handy because until I go into it, I won't know the exact amount of the stuff to put in! Depends on how bad off the old pipes are!

Where it warns you not to use too much at one time-, thats why for the snake stand by. But when treating severe, the object is to break down the hard deposit build up.

I once got a client 10 more years using that stuff ,when it came time the re plumb was 14 thousand dollars. I told them ten years before it would cost at least 10 thousand.The worst part of it was the pipe going through the foundation at a turn. The opening was no doubt reduced down to about half dollar size. Needless to say their plumbing backed up on a regular basis.That is until they went on vacation! 15 years those people, thats a long time, watched their kids grow up too! And fine young adults they both turned out to be. The young man is going to be a fire fighter.Kids been helping me fix their place since he was about 7 years old! Time fly's eh!