Kitchen

[depglass]

This is constantly filling up with black gunk.  No other drains in the house have this problem.  It has to be from the gel toothpaste and various products I use in the hand soap dispenser.  DH says its hair, but neither one of us is a hair shedder, even with Wen.

[Pook]

Try Sani Sticks.  You put one down the drain every month and I noticed that the black gunk in our shower drain is nearly non existent.  They are one of those As Seen on TV things and they are in many stores.

[Fressa]

I have the same thing and finally figured out that it was the gel toothpaste and hand cleaner. I started to purchase the soap rockettes and noticed a difference. I use the Green Gobbler to clean the drain and it works for me. I've replaced most of the hand gel soaps in the home with regurlar soap. I have an older home so I'm always worried about older pipes, etc. 

[Yardlie]

You can buy these long plastic things with hooks on the side at Walmart. You stick them down your drain, twirl them around, and pull them out. All the hair comes up with it. This is just one example of them...they work quite well.

[Stevie Nix]

I use a bottle brush & bleach.

[jaxs mom]

Unscrew the flat disk that acts as the plug and fish out anything that is being caught there. You can clean the P trap by taking it off. Plunging works great but you have to block the air hole in the sink first. 

[PINKdogWOOD]

@Fressa  I have Green Gobbler too.  I bought it based on the vendor and the Q touting it's safe for the environment.  I have used it in the drain for my tub/shower.  I don't use it often, in fact it's more just to keep it clean and free flowing.

Last week we had a bad kitchen sink clog back up from one side to the other.  Had a plumber in to clean the drain/snake the pipe.  Before he started I told him I did put a sleeve/pkg of GG.  He thanked me for letting him know, then he told me that stuff IS toxic and for me NOT to be using it. 

[x Hedge]

I've actually made that mistake, and plunged a slow draining sink and dislodged enough of that black gunk to completely PLUG the drain. That buildup is rubbery, and doesn't flush down the pipes in that form. Had to call a plumber. 

Since then I use the 'live enzymes' that digest the stuff that builds up.

[chickenbutt]

Once again with the baking soda and distilled white vinegar for me.   But then, after I've let that simmer for a bit, I have this one long, just wide enough, brush.  

I put some blue Dawn on that brush and run it up and down and all around, chased with a little hot water to really suds it up.  I just run that until all the black gunk is gone.  Unfortunately, the baking soda and white vinegar don't knock that out but the brush, soap, and hot water finish it off.

Many years ago, I got this whole set of brushes - long, short, narrow, super narrow, wider, etc.  I don't remember if it was QVC for sure, but I'm thinking it may well have been.   They aren't massive quality, but they are plenty fine for the types of jobs I use them for.   

[Toppers3]

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@chickenbutt wrote:

Once again with the baking soda and distilled white vinegar for me.   But then, after I've let that simmer for a bit, I have this one long, just wide enough, brush.  

I put some blue Dawn on that brush and run it up and down and all around, chased with a little hot water to really suds it up.  I just run that until all the black gunk is gone.  Unfortunately, the baking soda and white vinegar don't knock that out but the brush, soap, and hot water finish it off.

Many years ago, I got this whole set of brushes - long, short, narrow, super narrow, wider, etc.  I don't remember if it was QVC for sure, but I'm thinking it may well have been.   They aren't massive quality, but they are plenty fine for the types of jobs I use them for.   

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I've done the same thing with vinegar, baking soda and slightly boiling water, chickenbutt.

I use that for the bathtub drain after plunging it.

We also try and keep some kind of hair trap over the tub drain to try and catch as much as possible from going down the drain.

That is what usually seems to slow it down for us.

Plunging it usually brings up hair and then any thickened soap scum that seems to accumulate.

After you get the hair out, then you can try the vinegar, baking soda and water, and that will help keep the drain clean and clear. 

I agree with the thicker gel-like soaps/shower gels and hair conditioners clogging both the sink and the shower drains. I found that out to be true from my own experiences.

I try and use thinner shower gels, shampoos, hair conditioners, or bar soaps, too.