Simple Solution For A Slow Drain

Posted By Paul

I thought I would take a break from the more high level financial talk and pass on a little household tip.

This weekend I had to unclog two sinks that were draining slowly. I took the first one apart and removed the trap and sure enough I pulled out this really gross mass of hair and soap scum. I then decided to make a quick run to the hardware store to buy a brush to sort of scrub down the inside of the pipe to get the last of the gunk off.

While at the hardware store I saw this thing called the: "Zip It" which is supposed to unclog drains easily. It was only $2 so I decided to give it a try on the other sink which I had yet to tackle.

The Zip It is just a flexible plastic strip with these little teeth on it. The idea is that you can thread it down the drain (you can even just slip it around the edge of the drain plug) and then slowly pull it out and the teeth on the zip it are supposed to grab onto whatever gunk is clogging the drain to let you draw it out.

So I took this little gadget home and tried it on the remaining slow-draining sink. It was pretty easy to thread it down and draw it back out and it actually worked really well. The first time I drew it out it pulled out this mass of gunk, so I did it again and again until the Zip It came out clean (I did it about 4 times). Once I did that I turned on the water and the sink drained fine.

Considering that it took a few minutes, didn't require any gross or expensive chemicals, and the zip it was easily rinsed off and ready for reuse. I thought it was a pretty good tool for $2. Not nearly as good as a real auger, but a pretty decent cheap and easy alternative.

I was a little concerned that if the zip it got stuck on the drain plug that it might end up breaking, leaving part of it in the drain, but I figure if that happens then you're just back to removing the trap anyway.

I think you can probably find it at any hardware store, and they also have them here at Amazon: