do enzyme treatments work?

[Mikael]

Hi all. This is my first post. Bought my first house last year, an 80 yr old fixer-uper. The water in the upstairs tub drained progressively slower until it got too annoying and we called a plumber. It took him several hours to get to the clog, costing over $300. Six months later, same story. Between my hair loss and that of my constantly-shedding golden retriever, I think this situation is unavoidable.

This time I decided to take on the problem myself, however. I removed the p-trap (destroying it in the process), broke through the clog with a snake, and rebuilt the trap. I was pretty proud of myself, but it isn't something I want to do on a regular basis.

There was a tremendous amount of stinky black goo (is there a technical term for it?) in the pipe, and I couldn't help thinking that all I did was open a small drainage path that would soon be clogged again with goo and hair. I know from this forum and others that I shouldn't use caustic chemicals like Drano, but I've seen these other "concentrated enzyme treatments" like Bio-Clean (http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/terrylove/sewage_ejector.html#Bio-Clean)that purport to eliminate the goo and hair. Any advice on whether they actually work? Other thoughts on how I can deal with the problem?

Many thanks...

Mikael

That was a lot of background for a simple question.

[hj]

IF the water is flowing, even slowly, you can put anything you want into the drain. The problem with chemicals is when the water does not flow and they remain in the drain or sink. You can never be sure if the enzymes, or whatever, are doing any good, but at least they do not normally cause the problems.

[Terry]

Products like Bio-Clean (http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/terrylove/sewage_ejector.html#Bio-Clean)do work. You can read the Q and A here (http://www.statewidesupply.com/questions.html).

The city has some restaurants that use this product or something like it.
KFC I think gets the most benift, though I've seen Pizza restaurants using it too.

They don't clear a clog, but it does keep the pipe cleaner all the way around after a few days. In a little while the little critters are eating the organic goo that clings to the pipe.

Purchase Bio-Clean here (http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/terrylove/sewage_ejector.html#Bio-Clean)

http://www.terrylove.com/images/bio-clean.jpg