Bio-Clean "how to" instructions needed, please!

[Emmie]

Hello all!

I found these boards a few days ago while researching how to fix a few drain issues in my bathtub. My husband and I have been thinking about using Bio-Clean, and this seems like a great place to ask for advice!

We have a small house, built in 1923. We have had the original bathroom remodeled, and a few years after that we remodeled the kitchen and put in a 1/2 bath. The full bath is on the second floor, the kitchen and 1/2 bath are on the first floor. We have our laundry in the basement; no floor drains or other plumbing there.

What we do have: a dishwasher, a disposal, a female human with medium length hair who loves to cook, a front loader washing machine, and three long hair cats who shed just enough to have their humans put multiple slipcovers into the wash every two weeks. (We use bedsheets as our covers, and we do "defur" them before they get washed, but it still adds up to a lot of fuzz going into the machine!) We've had some issues with slow drains, and feel like Bio-Clean might be helpful for us, even as a maintenance thing.

I've heard that you should start with the lowest floor with Bio-Clean. That would be our basement. So, we should try to get it into the washing machine drainage pipe somehow. I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but how exactly do we do that? Should we mix up the solution, pour it into the machine, start the cycle and then stop it? If not, then how should it be done?

Once we move upstairs, I did read that you should mix it up and pour it into the disposal, then turn it on and off right away. Is that the best way? Is that also how you do the dishwasher, or is there a different method?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, even if you tell me I am overthinking this :-) Thank you!

Be well,
Emmie

[jimbo]

I would not put that in the dishwasher. There are phosphoric acid dishwasher cleaners available at the hardware store. If the hose or connection from the dishwasher is "gunked" up, just take it apart and clean it.
Just pouring your solution into the sink or disposer takes care of that line.
At the washing machine, is there not a standpipe where the hose goes? Pour it in there. If the machine drains to a deep sink, just put it there. As with the DW, if you suspect problems with the hose itself, take it apart. If the interior of the machine is messed up, then a new machine would cost less than the amount of enzyme it takes to fix it!

[Emmie]

Thank you, Jimbo, that makes a lot of sense.

I checked the basement and saw the standpipe where the washing machine hose drains. It should be easy enough for us to put the solution in there. I don't think the inside of the machine is messed up at all, but I can see how taking the hose apart to clean it might be a good idea. The dishwasher connection might be a little trickier, but we can check that out too.

Thanks again,
Emmie