Hello everyone,
Recently I had a plumber serviced my kitchen drain line because of a clog. I have noticed a lot of build up on galvanized drain line. Anyone can recommend a cleaning product for grease and scum build up on this drain line. Any tips on keeping galvanized drain lines as clean as possible(beside replacing them).
Thanks a lot!
Replies
Low fat diet - good for your drains, good for your veins.
Getting my stents put in was interesting, but I can think of better (and cheaper) ways to spend the adfternoon!
Edited 11/13/2005 8:13 pm ET by rjw
<,Any tips on keeping galvanized drain lines as clean as possible(beside replacing <them).
Mr Sawzall and ABS pipe....Much better!
Bud
The thick liquid drain cleaners work well for me. I've seen ads for foaming cleaners, too. They might be good for horizontal sections of pipe.
Edited 11/13/2005 10:49 pm ET by WayneL5
I was on a job recently where the plumber (with my help) had to replace a section of the cast iron drain pipe because of a crack. We also replaced a section of galvanized drain that rusted though.
According to the plumber, regular use of drain cleaners spells death for metal drain lines. We showed the homeowner the old pipes and they confessed to regularly using Draino.
For what it's worth,
Don
As others have said, old galvanized will more than likely get eaten apart by most commercial drain cleaners. The older it is the more quickly it will fail.
Replacement with pvc is your best long tem solution.
Short term, untill you can fund the plumber again, is a weekly dose of bleach. It is not as effective as the more caustic drain cleaners, but does work.
Dave
Carefully clean the drain line.
Remove the offending galv pipe, wrap carefully in plastic, tape all seams shut, and store in a cool dry place.
Replace w/ copper or PVC.
This method will GUARANTEE no future "buildup" in the galv pipe.
Lots of hot water and a good detergent like Dawn when you wash your dishes. Galvy pipe is colder than plastic and you know what cold does to fats and oils. I recently did my kitchen drain. Tried a couple of different products..no help. I then brought out the big guns...muratic acid..for cleaning bricks..poured it down and let it sit...next..he he a mix of baking soda and water for the "foaming action". In the mean time the muratic acid jug was leaving a nice stain on the stainless steel sink. It just got worse. I rented a power snake as the ones I had wouldnt cut it. Couldnt get the power snake to make the bends from the kitchen so I hauled it into the crawl space..dang those are heavy. Augered it good and got the machine back in about so they only charged me $20. When you do this yourself you learn not to use acids or caustics cuzz when you open the pipe to do it right its gonna eat your hands.
Keith
You have to keep in mind that anything that you do with that line is only a stop-gap measure, they will have to be replaced. A lot of times if you clean them out too good they start to leak, the only thing keeping them from leaking is the build up in the pipe. Sorry.