Slow Drain 2 Vanity sinks

House about 35 years old. Used by wife and 2 daughters all with long hair.

2 bathroom vanities slow to drain. Take about 17 seconds after turning on water full for the water level to rise above opening.

Checked p-traps, both clear.

Tried plunging and removed some debris. Plunging into one drain causes water to force out on next drain.

Tried auger and removed some more debris.

Auger, plunge, auger, plunge....water appearing less dark, however clog still remains and drain still slow.

Now, I want to try chemicals. Surfed Bio-Clean, host on youtube says its a drain cleaner, not a drain opener. So, it's out for now.

Between Drano and Liquid Plumr.

For slow drains, they recommend one product (e.g. Drano Dual Force, LP Foaming Pipe Snake) as opposed to clogged sinks for which another product is recommended (Drano Max Gel, LP Power Gel).

My question is why can I not use their most powerful product ?

Am tired of playing around and my body is gone after 3 days of working on this.

Any other input on this matter would be most welcome. I dont profess to be a handyman.

Thanks,

Have you thought about calling a real plumber to come and snake your pipes with a professional auger?

Yes, I have. However, that is the last option when all else has failed.

I did call Drano and they said to use the appropriate product for the appropriate problem. There is no such thing as one more powerful than the other. Which answers my question as to why consumers not just purchase the product for the hardest clogs and use them for everything.

The other important point they mention is to always follow the label's instructions. Never do your own thing such as leaving it longer than specified, overnight etc.

you sound like a educated man what makes you think that "any " draino or such drain products though

10 - 15 feet of standing water to get too the hair blockage ????????????

Thats why they make electric power snakes !!!!!!!!!

So make that your # 1 phone call

eather rent one or call a professional drain/plumber to clear the stoppage the right way

Hello MACPLUMB 777,

I may very well end up making that call.

However, I need to try all reasonable options first.
Will be a learning experience (also am unemployed as sole breadwinner with 4 mouths to feed).

There is no standing water, it drains away slowly. Only water is in p-trap.

Should I pour the Drano down both sinks ?
Should I clear the water from p-trap ?

Thanks in advance,

No you should clear the water from your ears and eyes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And read !!!!!!!!!!!!

The plumber is " not " the last option it is the only option !!!!!!!!!!

Their is " no " way drano will move though your drain to clear a hair blockade !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look up president zachary taylor and how they tested his 100 " year old " hair for poison !!!!!!!!!!

You think a puny can or bottle is going to do something that 100 years laying in a coffin won' do ??????????

Hooray ! I am ecstatic

For the benefit of you readers, this is what I did.

1. Made a few phone calls to the Drano people
2. Sent a few e-mails to the Liquid Plumber people
3. Researched Epinions for reviews of above products
4. Settled on Liquid Plumr Foaming Pipe Snake
5. Poured in 2 bottles (after explaining situation to the LP people and getting their approval) before bedtime
6. Next morning, still slow drain
7. Used plunger, on the 3rd plunge...WHOOSH the clog disengaged and went plunging down sucking the water behind it
8. Instantly put in strainers on both
9. Explained to family the pitfalls of throwing stuff down the drain
10. Cracked open a cold one

With all due respect, we have had slow drains in the bathroom sinks and in the shower stalls on occasion and presume the cause is soap buildup and hair buildup; went to the local plumbing emporium (NOT HOME DEPOT) and they gave us a bottle of industrial strength drain cleaner designed for hair and soap buildup. Rubber gloves, eye protection, poured in the stuff and waited 30 minutes. Flushed with hot water and PRESTO! Draining like the day it was new. That was three or four years ago. We had the same issue recently and did the same thing. Presto. Same results. Get out of home hardware stores and into a proper plumbing supply shop where they will have industrial chemicals. One caveat, the drain must be slow and not plugged otherwise you are diluting the product at best. If that does not work my advice to you is to get in licensed plumber wi th an electric auger as it can do damage if you don't know what you are doing. It's a hundred bucks well spent. And get the plumber to do any other slow drains at the same time; you are paying for travel time too right?

Drain chemicals all have one common feature. IF they work, and that is not always a given, then they ONLY work until they have opened a small enough opening so they can continue down the line and STOP working. Therefore, even if they give immediate relief, the main problem remains and will come back fairly quickly. A second factor is that ALL consumer drain products are highly diluted to prevent lawsuits due to injury from powerful chemicals. I have NEVER been "burned" or had any other injuries from the drain cleaners people put into their sinks. Usually the only way I know it is there is because it is "slippery" not because it burns. Any stronger materials are labeled "for professional use only" and are normally only sold by wholesalers to plumbers.

Use manual cleaning techniques.Chemical drain cleaners are no friend to the environment or the drain pipes your plumbing ststem.It is very dangerous to use.Chemical cleaners rarly work on stubborn clogs. After you try to use the caustic cleaner and it does not work, you are then left with a sink full of toxic chemicals that need to be bailed out by hand into a bucket and flushed down the toilet.

You will be calling a plumber soon to replace any chrome plated brass fittings that you have on those sinks (PO plugs, chrome traps ...etc........) that have rotted enough to give you some borrowed time.