Recently in our house we had a clogged bathroom sink that drained VERY slowly. It had developed over months (not a good idea to ignore it this long). Finally something HAD to be done.
What We Did About It
We bought one of those Turbo Snakes – they’re those As Seen on TV plumbing snake things and are now in just about every store for around $10 for a 2-pack. We tried it at home and it did what it was supposed to do – it pulled out a big nasty clog (not for the squeamish – my husband handled this part as I’m pregnant and couldn’t handle the sight or smell).
After the Turbo Snake cleared all the clog it could, the sink still drained slowly. In fact, it was WORSE. The sink would fill up halfway after running the water less than 5 seconds.
How Much We Saved
A week went by and I called a plumber just to find out what they’d charge. He said $135 to snake the drain. HUH? I said that seemed really high to unclog a slow sink drain and that I’d call other plumbers for their rates.
I didn’t call around – instead I looked up “how to clear a slow sink drain” online. I found good tips and tried them – I poured lots of hot (boiling) water down the sink. Then I plunged the drain with a sink plunger. THAT WORKED! A whole bunch of black stuff came out – junk that the turbo snake couldn’t get out. So I kept plunging it until it all came out. After this the drain was completely clear.
More Tips to Unclog a Slow Sink Drain
We had purchased a hair clog removing chemical to pour down the drain so just to be sure, I poured that down the drain and let it work overnight, and poured more hot, boiling water down in the morning. For days now the drain has been working perfectly.
Lesson learned – DO IT YOURSELF! Only call an expert if you’ve tried everything you can yourself and have had no success. Besides saving money (possibly a lot like we did!), you’ll get a nice boost of PRIDE in having been self-sufficient.
By the way – we had purchased a hand auger (plumber’s snake) for around $10, plus a sink drain wrench for a couple bucks, both at Menards, just in case…thankfully we didn’t need them but would have used them to clear a deeper clog if present…still, WAY cheaper than hiring a plumber!
Read about a great DIY product here.