Having recently moved in to a new place, I needed to unclog out both bathroom sink drains. This house was built in the 50’s and the previous owner used draino liberally, so both drain tail pipes snapped like twigs at the threads when I went to remove the trap. I tried replacing only the damaged parts, but ultimately, nothing was salvageable, as each part I replaced led to another catastrophically failing.
The guest bathroom plumbing wasn’t too bad, as the vanity is spacious and things were at least installed correctly despite the damage. The en suite, however, has a cramped vanity, is too tiny to lay down in, and whoever did the plumbing directly abs-welded the <1" wall stub to a DWV elbow instead of using a slip joint. I had to take a hacksaw blade and gently floss the pipe between the wall and the joint, taking ~45 minutes and only having enough room to use my fingers to grab the blade
The plumbing is now done correctly, uses the right parts, and will never see draino again as long as I live here.
Can I come round to yours for a shit?
You have to buy Draino continuosly but you only have to buy a good plunger once
Too true. Snaking a drain every once in a blue moon is so much easier than dealing with draino damage.
The previous owners name is a curse word in our house.
The former owner in this instnce was my Fianceé’s grandmother, and I know for a fact that she was a draino fiend. Sweet sweet lady, but I definitely had some not-so-nice mutterings about her after the 3rd pipe crumbled under my channel-lock pliers during repair. And whoever welded a dwv fitting onto the wall stub (which I know wasn’t her) has a special layer of hell waiting for them.
Wait what kind of pipes are affected by Draino? I am just hearing about this concern. I have PVC pipes and a wife with long hair. If I don’t clean the traps regularly I end up having to use Draino to clear downstream every few months.
There should be a word for that feeling after I know a job is done right because I did it. It’s a particular feeling. I think it deserves a dedicated word.
That’s pretty good.
I was hoping for something to capture the triumph over the last person’s workmanship, as well. Lol.
It lies somewhere between pride, relief, and satisfaction. I understand the feeling all too well, my last house was also a 50’s build, but someone did a budget flip on it and I spent all of my 9 years there fixing their mistakes one by one. Then I moved just in time for someone else to enjoy my repairs haha.