These Thailand Sink Drains are Always Clogging. What Can Be Done?

[OldChinaHam]

Since I have been in Thailand, I have noticed not one bad thing.

Except this.

My Sink Drains are always clogging.

And no, I do not put anything down them but water, toothpaste, and that is it.

But still they clog. I have loved in a Hotel, a Large Nice Hostel with private rooms, and now An Apartment. And the sinks all clog.

Why is this, this does not happen in other places so much.

And, how can I buy some cheap lye or drano or something to pour in once in a while IF you think this will help.

I need to take care of this SLOW DRAIN which is getting SLOWER and SLOWER, so please do not leave me hanging here with the slow drain in the sink in the bathroom. The other sink in the kitchen seems good by comparison.

The STRANGE thing about this is that the place is NEW!

Go figure.

Thank HELP!

[isanbirder]

Makro make a cheaper version of Drano. It works.

[meatboy]

i use costic soda from home pro once a month,done the job in the uk.and here.soap suds can build up and block,when you use soda make sure you wear plastic gloves and the windows are open because when it heats up you will get fumes off it.

[Nana Cowboy]

next time youre in a country that sell arm and hammer baking soda, pick it up and use in drain with vinegar. thai baking soda doesn't do it

Edited July 26, 2013 by Nana Cowboy

[weegee]

Check you have the right fall in the pipes, seeing as the other one is ok. I could be installed incorrect

[jvs]

In a lot of cases it is not a clogged drain but a faulty design or installation,to many bends or maybe they are trying to make the water run uphill.

I would look at that first before blowing the pipes apart using baking soda.

[pigeonjake]

i may not be what your putting down your sink, but by the sounds of it, itll be others in your building, you say hotel,hostel, ect,

i dont have any trouble with my plumbing,( not that one weegee)

MIND YOU I DID MY OWN

thats what ide be thinking anyway it could be the others in your building,

jake

[weegee]

If you have the correct trap attached under the sink....open the bung and check for build up...clean it out regularly.

Did this happen from the beginning? or after a few weeks?....if after a few weeks, the trap (if installed) needs cleaning.

If from the beginning....the installation is incorrect, you may need to install the trap I am talking about.

(Jake...do you think, my mind is always in that gear????)

[pigeonjake]

listen weegee, dont be asking me what gear your mind is in at this time in the morning,,lol,,

an hour to go for me,

and im off today, into kinkardine for a few beers tonite,

[phuketjock]

Anytime my drains have been blocked it has been by long stringy black coloured stuff

remarkable similar to my wifes hair. Funny eh???

[OldChinaHam]

"I have loved in a Hotel"

Sorry about that, I meant lived.

So far this trip, can't say I have loved in a Hotel,

Just loved being in Thailand.

Today I went out to buy something to unclog the sink drain.

They gave me a product in a white bottle with a red cap

"CRENING" is all it says in English.

I guess I will just pour some of it into the sink drain and hope for the best?

The lady who sold it to me told me not to put any of it on my hands, while she made a hand washing movement.

I was not planing to wash with it.

This is actually a liquid, not the powder variety.

I paid 68 Baht at a little hardware shop.

[OldChinaHam]

i may not be what your putting down your sink, but by the sounds of it, itll be others in your building, you say hotel,hostel, ect,

i dont have any trouble with my plumbing,( not that one weegee)

MIND YOU I DID MY OWN

thats what ide be thinking anyway it could be the others in your building,

jake

Before I begin this informal drain unclogging experiment of mine, and find out what is what, I will first put it on record that I think you are probably correct, that it is not my bathroom sink and drain that is causing my drain to be slow.

I think it must be the other pipes in the building.

I have noticed that when I run water for the first 30 seconds, everything seems to be fine and the water seems to be flowing well out the drain. Then, it begins backing up in the sink. So this signifies to me that the clog must be further away from my sink, and maybe there is another pipe that is either poorly designed and not inclined properly, or maybe it is clogged by other tenants, such as maybe one tried to put a horse through their kitchen sink garbage disposal machine.

OK, Then!

Let us get on with the experiment. I will pour in first a modest amount of the 68 Baht Crening, and then wait one hour. Then I will flush with about 20 liters of the hottest water I can find in this beautiful rat trap of mine.

If you see smoke, do not worry, it will probably just be the Crening digesting the horse meat and whatever else is down there.

Sawadii Krap.

[OldChinaHam]

Just poured in about 1/2 the bottle, and I am thinking about adding the other half.

There seemed to be a few slight puffs of smoke at first, or this may have been my imagination.

The color of the Crening which I had expected to be blue, is actually a very ugly brownish shade of some color I cannot describe.

So now, I will just wait for an hour, then try to flush with hot water that I do not have because in Thailand there is no hot water in the sinks.

Oh Lordy!

(If this does not work, I will just call the apt office. But I did not want to trouble them if I could fix it with 68 Baht, or actually 34 Baht if I decide the other half of the bottle may not be required.)

Edited July 26, 2013 by OldChinaHam

[isawasnake]

Go buy a thing called channel locks at home pro. If you say that word to them, they will have no idea what you are talking about. Google it and put a pic if them on your phone. Pay the 150 baht for the channel locks; don't buy the big orange wrench they will want to sell you after they ask you what you need it for.

Go home, turn the nob with the channel locks. Take out large, disgusting obtrusion. Put all back, maybe a little vaseline on the threads would not hurt. Watch the water go down the drain like cotton candy, and feel the pleasure in knowing that any time in the future this happens again, you wont have to listen to the two most annoying words in the Thai language..... "bring man".

[OldChinaHam]

Go buy a thing called channel locks at home pro. If you say that word to them, they will have no idea what you are talking about. Google it and put a pic if them on your phone. Pay the 150 baht for the channel locks; don't buy the big orange wrench they will want to sell you after they ask you what you need it for.

Go home, turn the nob with the channel locks. Take out large, disgusting obtrusion. Put all back, maybe a little vaseline on the threads would not hurt. Watch the water go down the drain like cotton candy, and feel the pleasure in knowing that any time in the future this happens again, you wont have to listen to the two most annoying words in the Thai language..... "bring man".

Good advice you have provided for almost everybody.

It is not that I do not know what you are talking about, I do.

I used to work on large diesel engines aboard ship, pulling pistons as big as a house, when I was a lad. I know all about channel locks and come-alongs, and things.

I just do not like to think about having to see what is down there.

So this is why I will not be unscrewing anything in my bedroom that looks like that.

Thank you for your advice!

You got the wrong guy though, this time.

It is either the Crening works, or I call the apt office and escape for a while down in the lobby while they get greasy with other peoples gray water.

Sawadii Krap.

Edited July 26, 2013 by OldChinaHam

[OldChinaHam]

Well,

I just dumped the rest of the bottle into the drain, thinking that it couldn't hurt because I was not hearing any sounds, nor seeing any smoke, from the first part of the bottle dumped in about 30 minutes ago.

And, why not use it all since I don't plan on trying this a second time?

So now I got about 3/4 liter of what ever Crening is down in the drain, and I will wait another 30 minutes, then flush.

This shape of drain is pretty unique to Thailand, I would say.

It's got one long extension of a trap that hangs down like a scrotum from where the pipe bend usually turns 90 degrees directly toward and through the wall.

IT IS MY THINKING THAT it just might be this protrusion or scrotum thing that hangs down which collects so much gunk and then causes the trouble.

Why have this anyway?

If you are too dumb to loose your ring down the sink, then good riddance to it, I say.

So now I got another 25 minutes to wait before flushing.

That will be 9:10PM Chiang Mai time.

Then I will try to give you an update, and also tell you if this has been success or failure.

(Please do not try this at home, unless you know what you are doing. Because it is always wise to call a plumber. And, these chemicals can burn your skin, if you are not careful. Also, you should ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION. Never MIX chemicals. This can lead to rather disastrous results. If you are a chemical engineer, well then that is a different story all together.)

Sawadii Krap.

[OldChinaHam]

Success.

Proper Drain Function has been restored.

But I would suggest that anyone might wish to try reading the instructions in Thai, which seem to say 1/2 to 1 bottle. Which is also what liquid Drano suggests. However, as I say, please carefully read the instructions on the bottle before use.

And, maybe you could first try less then go to more, because my drain here is working really fine now, and I bet I could have used half and still had good success, and spent only 34 Baht.

Hope this helps someone with a slow drain.

PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, CAREFULLY , BEFORE USE, AS I AM NOT TOO GOOD AT READING THAI, YET.

But the above procedure definitely did fix my bathroom sink drain. Although what was wrong with mine, may not be what is wrong with yours.

Any further thoughts by others would be appreciated because potentially many might benefit from reading various strategies to open slow drains, or clogged drains.

Good luck to all,

And happy unclogging.

[IMHO]

It's got one long extension of a trap that hangs down like a scrotum from where the pipe bend usually turns 90 degrees directly toward and through the wall.

Those "T" trap designs are hopeless - they clog up with hair in in no time. Pull it out and replace it with a proper S bend and the problem will disappear for good - unless you bring home too many malting girls in rapid succession

[isawasnake]

It's got one long extension of a trap that hangs down like a scrotum from where the pipe bend usually turns 90 degrees directly toward and through the wall.

Those "T" trap designs are hopeless - they clog up with hair in in no time. Pull it out and replace it with a proper S bend and the problem will disappear for good - unless you bring home too many malting girls in rapid succession

He does not want to open it. But, I may one day get unlazied and do your suggestion at my place. I would like to put proper p traps in there. This will preclude the billowing out of most smells that may form in there too of course.

[OldChinaHam]

It's got one long extension of a trap that hangs down like a scrotum from where the pipe bend usually turns 90 degrees directly toward and through the wall.

Those "T" trap designs are hopeless - they clog up with hair in in no time. Pull it out and replace it with a proper S bend and the problem will disappear for good - unless you bring home too many malting girls in rapid succession

Yes!!!!!

But then why????

Do they have them?

Seems the height of incompetence which is played out over and over in almost every bathroom around Thailand.

[IMHO]

It's got one long extension of a trap that hangs down like a scrotum from where the pipe bend usually turns 90 degrees directly toward and through the wall.

Those "T" trap designs are hopeless - they clog up with hair in in no time. Pull it out and replace it with a proper S bend and the problem will disappear for good - unless you bring home too many malting girls in rapid succession

Yes!!!!!

But then why????

Do they have them?

Seems the height of incompetence which is played out over and over in almost every bathroom around Thailand.

I suspect because people think they look better in open vanities, and take up a little less space.. but you can get the P/S designs in chrome too if your piping is exposed.

No reason not to do it right