Friday, May 25

Clogged (update)

Our bathroom drain has always been a bit slow to drain, but lately it has been almost completely clogged. We have tried practically every drain cleaner out there and nothing seemed to help. Well I decided to give good old fashioned baking soda and vinegar a try. While it definitely loosened up some of the gunk, the drain was still slow.

And then I began seeing something weird. Little worm like things. Gross. Worms in my sink drain? I don't know how they got there but I want them gone. It seemed like every time I flushed the drain with vinegar another worm or two would show up.
see it crawling up the sink?
zoomed-in as far as I could on this tiny little creeper

 I told Adam and he did some googling and found out they are actually the larva of 'drain flies' (which explains the random little flies I had seen before). Yes there is an actual name to these things in my sink, and they are apparently common.

The info we found said that vinegar won't actually stop the problem because it drains to quickly to kill all the larva. What we needed was a cleaner with enzymes that would eat away at the organic material stuck in the drain where the flies breed.

I had to go to one of the organic markets, but I picked up Biokleen.

It is thick like a normal drain cleaner, but is safe for pipes and the environment. I just poured some around the drain, will wait a few hours before using the water, and repeat in a couple days. Hopefully this not only gets rid of the flies/'worms' but also opens up the drain.

I had never seen or heard of drain flies before, have you?

**Update**5/30/12**

After telling my mom and dad (who had never heard of these flies) about the issue, my mom bluntly said "Just get some Draino and pour it down there." Having explained that we tried and the info we found said that we needed to use something that would actually break down the matter. Oh no, she explained. I just needed to pull out the stopper, pour some drain cleaner, and flush it with hot water.

Well, I can't remove the stopper, I said. I've tried. I've gotten as far as disconnecting the stopper from the lever that pulls it up and down in the sink, but I couldn't pull it out of the drain. Then she explained how:


Remove the small metal pole from the lever, then unscrew the pole from the drain. Pull out the stopper, and screw the pole back in (this is important, b/c if you don't, anything going down the drain will spill out under the sink; go ahead, ask me how I know...).

So with the stopper out, I could see that the biokleen had worked for the most part. There was plenty of gunk still in the sink but it wasn't attached the the stopper (I will spare you the image of the nasty build up, but if you're not sure how bad it can get- and how I imagine my sink was- look here). I used the stopper itself to scrape out as much as I could, poured some Draino down, waited the 15 minutes, and flushed the sink with hot water.

Success!

I will continue to use the biokleen regularly to keep the build up in check so we don't have any more issues with flies and worms (especially because Adam has asked to shave upstairs again).

I hope someone out there finds this helpful, I know I would have when this issue first started.

6 comments:

  1. I thought I was crazy! I know exactly what flies you're talking about. Ick. I might need to grab some of that stuff.... Let me know how it works!

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    1. I'm pretty sure it works, but I had to take extra measures to clean out 3+years of build up.

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  2. Same here. This is the first time I have heard about drain flies. The thought of worm-like things crawling up the sink sounds gross. The information about drain flies is extra helpful. =) Routine cleanup of the drain is an excellent idea, not only in stopping drain flies from breeding in your drain, but also in preventing any major clogs from developing.

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  3. Thanks for sharing that info with us, Diana! But, eww! That thing about worm-like creepers living under the sink grossed me out. I probably have to check ours just to be sure we’re not harboring some of them too. If that is the case, I will definitely call a plumber to have it removed. I’d do it myself, but I have a weak stomach. >.<

    Jaye Conaway

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  4. A clogged pipe is a pain in anyone’s neck. If we look at the principle of Feng Shui, anything that is clogged is believed to be DISTURBING. Not only that, it emits negative energies in a particular area where it is located. You can unclog those nasty drains by using a plunger. Bend the hook on the end of a coat hanger wire and see it to dislodge the clog. The vinegar and baking soda solution may take a while to take effect. If all else fails, don’t hesitate to contact a qualified plumber.

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  5. Living creepers in my drain? Phew! I can only imagine! Thanks for this very informative post, Diane! It makes me want to do a regular drain check. Hmm..I wonder if these worms ever came back to your drain since then. Though, I believe if I will be diligent in checking any clogs in the drain and regularly do the vinegar-soda-salt whether the drain is clogged or not, worms will never visit my toilet in the future. Keep us posted.


    ->Darryl Lorio

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