Ever try a couple rounds of baking soda and white vinegar? Let it foam up and rinse with the hot tap. Works pretty well.
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I learned to do many home repairs by myself, and not only is it empowering and satisfying, but I’ve saved tons of money. Essentially, you can do almost all repairs by yourself, it’s not hard at all. YouTube is the greatest tool available.
Next time you have a clogged sink, try using a plunger. Or even covering the drain with the palm of your hand, running the water, and moving your palm up and down to create suction. Products such as Drano also work pretty well.
Next time you have a clogged sink, try using a plunger. Or even covering the drain with the palm of your hand, running the water, and moving your palm up and down to create suction. Products such as Drano also work pretty well.
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I've plunged lots of sinks and toilets in my life, but I do like, "One Second Plumber" (a can of compressed air) to quickly unblock drains. Usually a quick blast will work for a sink or toilet.
You can double tap it with drain cleaner sometime after that if you really want the drain clear. The One Second Plumber will move a blockage and gooey stuff, the drain cleaner will then eat the caked on stuff.
If you do use something like One Second Plumber (compressed air) make sure you block any secondary drains or overflow drains, or you'll have a mess. A rag and some pressure from your hand will do.
Not to be sexist, but I've bought more than one can of One Second Plumber for girlfriends with dodgey apartments when I was younger. I've found it more manageable for people who aren't down with using a plunger or snake, or when you need a fast fix, or when drain cleaner isn't cutting it.
This sucks and I’m sorry. It is a live and learn situation.
If you can, search for reviews. Always get estimates before hand and inquiry about all extra fees.
You’ll never go through this again now that you have once. If that is any consolation.
If you can, search for reviews. Always get estimates before hand and inquiry about all extra fees.
You’ll never go through this again now that you have once. If that is any consolation.
You are absolutely right. Learning experience! I should have kept asking until I got an answer =(There are towing companies that operate like this as well. Their rates also tend to be on the ripoff end of the spectrum. What these referral companies tend to be very good at is search engine optimization, and taking advantage of people in a bind. If it's a plumber, towing company, electrician, duct cleaner, handyman, kitchen or bathroom reno company, or even escorttry to find a good, well established, local provider or company, not just the first thing that pops up on search (fake reviews and all), or that flyer in the mail (if you're old).
@Josephine, that's a terrible experience. You certainly weren't given a friendly, "quick fix", rate, and were ripped off for the service provided. Having a guy refuse to leave without money is outright intimidating (and, I'd imagine quite scary for many women). At that point I would seriously consider dialing 911, and using words like single woman, man refusing to leave without money, and feeling threatened. That may get TPS to move. Offer to pay what you think is a fair price, and invite them to take you to small claims court. Though I get why calling the cops, or "big drama", may not be your go to move...
Without putting any blame on you, for any sort of work on a home or vehicle always demand a reproducible quote up front (if not a written estimate at least a text or email), and always insist that you need to authorize any additional work. Most companies will do this without asking (as they don't want drama or to go to court), if not, insist.
It sucks that you were ripped off and intimidated. The best thing to do is just to move on. A service was provided and money was exchanged. At that point getting any redress is hard.
One thing you might want to do is keep a can of compressed air drain clog remover. "One Second Plumber", is a big brand there. Plug any secondary drains or overflow drains (a rag and pressure will do fine), and give the clogged drain / toilet a short blast of air. It's generally safe and effective, but if you're plumbing is coming apart that might finish it off. If you want to "double tap" the problem drain you can hit it with some drain cleaner afterwards. Many people find that less intimidating than trying to use a snake.
I'm sorry for your experience.
i see a lot of guys talking Drano but I had stories in the past where the pipe melted. I think not every pipe is ok with drano.
J
jerbear15
The building trades are slow right now. Always call 3 people to get a rough estimate before and whoever you pick next time get them to give you a quote beforehand. Mind you it was a small job but could have been much bigger
Thank you Jen. I should have insisted more. In my head I was expecting 4-500 top and I should have been more solid.
They're also called New Canadian Plumbing. I dealt with them a few years ago also with a clogged kitchen sink, a problem that we've often had because of it being an old house and fairly typically weirdly arranged drainpipes. The guy came and suggested we need to replace all drainage in the basement, not up to code etc. and quoted $8000. I just said forget it, he immediately dropped the price to $6000. I still said no and he left. Called another plumber who rebuilt the entire drain system under the sink and all the way to the basement and charged me $1000. It's worked perfectly since.
So those guys, New Canadians are total scammers!
Don't kick yourself. You were just trying to get 'stuff' done.
Most of us have been there in one way or another.Next time you can have another raffle and offer a TERB member the opportunity to come over and clean out your pipes in exchange for cleaning out his pipes. It is an easy thing to do. For both parties.
Do You Know About Drain Snakes? Clogged Drain Tip from a Cleaning Pro
Do you know about drain snakes? They are plastic snakes with teeth on them that when you feed them down a clogged drain they grab hair allowing you to remove...
www.youtube.com
I used to own rental properties, but I had to step away from the housing rental business—otherwise, I might have killed a tenant by now. During that time, I had an honest plumber working for me. He eventually went independent because he couldn't handle the pressure and dishonesty of working for big plumbing companies.
For example, replacing a trap under a sink is typically a quick 10-minute job. But under company policy, he was expected to turn the connector the wrong way to "accidentally" damage additional parts, forcing the replacement of three components instead of just one. On top of that, he had to pretend he didn’t have the right part on hand, creating an excuse to leave and return, stretching the 10-minute job into a 2-3 hour job.
His boss used to reprimand him, saying the company couldn’t afford to keep him unless he generated more profit. It wasn’t about providing good service—it was all about maximizing the bill. That kind of practice went against his principles, which is why he chose to go out on his own.
You can not win in this case, the charge is typical for this sort of job.
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I also had another experience where we legitimately had a plumbing emergency after hours that needed fixing, could not wait. The guy spent 2-2.5 h on a Saturday evening, needing to use some of his Specialized equipment and the bill was about 1600.
A plumber can not give you a quote if you tell him over the phone that it is a clogged drain. Unclogging the drain with drain cleaner or a snake is not that difficult.
It was a big dirty job, those guys worked hard. My drains are now good until 2125.
Insurance paid for a portion, I also had a back water valve installed 4 days before we had the Monsoon rain storm last summer, the city will reimburse a few $ for the back water valve. 3 of my neighbours basements flooded that day.
Just to add my three cents. One go out by yourself a sink strainer, fits inside the sink filters out small particles, clean when necessary no tools needed. To don’t put fog down the sink (fat, oil, grease) once you start doing that stuff will stick to it then you need to heavy artillery to clean it out. Three be careful about Drano and other drain cleaners when you use those chemicals they produce their own heat and fumes, hot enough to melt through an aluminum pan! Cost of the strainer anywhere from four to $10 available everywhere home hardware, no-frills, Walmart and the list goes on.
I recently tried to unplug a drain for somebody and failed. I had a drain king expanding bulb attached to a hose. Usually works. But this time it didn't.
I asked a friend who is a plumber and he said I should have used this.
I asked a friend who is a plumber and he said I should have used this.
I use the fine mesh drain filters in my kitchen sink. Amazed how much gunk it catches taht would otherwise go down the drain.
And strongly concur with your advice to NEVER dispose of fat, oil or grease in your plumbing. It does indeed congeal within the pipes as it is cooled down. Then that greasy residue starts to grab on and hold other particulate matter and then you end up with ever narrowing drains.
I used to contract in and now live in a high rise condo and we used to get drain overflows from the units above when the units below would be pouring grease down their drains. In my experience, it was mostly Asian households who did this. These drain stacks had to be power jettted to be cleared.
Something I do every month is to fill both bowls of my kitchen sink up with HOT water and Blue Dawn dish soap and then drain both sinks at the same time. I do this a couple times. The idea is to try to wash and flush out residue in the pipes before it gets to any thickness.
