Drain Clearage

[Liam1]

Can anyone recommend some liquids (or other ideas) that will clear a blockage from a shower/wet room? Tried coat hanger down the plughole(s) and design means impossible with plungers. As two showers drain separately but both back up eventually, feels that blockage further down i.e. after the pipes meet

Apologies to the Green lobby, but the nastier the better (if this clears the blockage)!

[Adrian42]

I use the liquid from Lidl for that purpose.
Not sure whether it helps when the blocking is that deep down, but it's cheap and worth a try.

If nothing helps, a plumber should be able to fix it.

If you are living in an apartment building, the janitor from the housing company should be able to either help you or recommend a plumber.

[Pursuivant]

Hairballs, eh? You go to the big store (prisma, cityparket, tarjoustalo) and look at the cheapest-looking bottle on the drain cleaner shelf that makes a maracas sound - its lye granules lipeä. What you do is boil water, pour the granules in and then the boiling water... If you want to go a bit over the top - Niagara-450 http://www.alipa.fi ... just don't use bleach before or after unless you have vermin as combined they make mustard gas...

[Liam1]

Great thanks guys.
Will try these and if all fail, the plumber - then the girls in the house to the hairdressers for a short back and sides!

[Upphew]

I use the Lidl's stuff too. Not when they are blocked, but every now and then just for fun. And to keep the pipes clean too.

[Pursuivant]

I use the Lidl's stuff too. Not when they are blocked, but every now and then just for fun. And to keep the pipes clean too.

I was suspecting that was your favorite Friday tipple

[AldenG]

Can you get hold of a rotating snake aka drain auger? They can go where coat hangers can't, and anyway they're much more effective.

The trouble with the granules and gel is that if the water is not flowing and there is a J-trap before the blockage (which it sounds like there is), the chemical will never reach where it needs to be, you'll still have to go for a mechanical solution, but you'll then be dealing with dangerous chemicals on your equipment and very possibly on your clothing or skin.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-3950 ... B000O55KJC

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monument-3344k- ... B0002JT3NY

I've never known anyone to be sorry they owned one of these -- unless they used it through a toilet instead of removing the toilet first. (The metal ones tend to make permanent marks on porcelain.)

[tista]

If the chemicals didnt help, as lst option I can recommend a way which I had witnessed someone opening the drain:

take everything away from the floor which can be wet. you will need an hose. u need to connect one end to tap water,the other end goes in the drain. you push the hose in the drain, as much as it goes. after that open the water and close the drain with your hands and/or some cloth as well as u can so that the water will not come back and will make pressure to the blockage. with this pressure the drain will open. after this process you will need to clean the room because it will be a little mess with the water which comes out of drain.

[Liam1]

Thanks all - have ordered one of the silverlines as seems good idea to have one. In the meantime (it'll take a week to arrive) will try the liquid solutions as the blockage is only partial (the water goes down, just not very quickly). If all fails will go for the more radical solution

PS been away / used the upstairs shower, so haven't just been getting steadily dirtier since the blockage started!!!

- the LIDL liquid worked a treat. Part of me disappoined as had wanted to go for the mustard gas solution and to use the silverlines. The sensible part of me happy as I'd have probably hurt myself / the drains and ended up with a bigger plumbers bill.