Drain maintenance: hot water + laundry detergent??

[44jd]

i'm not a plumber or anything, was just curious about this...

a few years ago i rented a place and a few of the drains were slow so i took like a 3 gallon stock pot, filled it with water and added some laundry detergent and heated to probably 160 degrees or so (guessing) and after 2 or 3 of these stock pots full of semi-hot water, all the drains were working good...

i am just wondering, what temperature would be safe for most drain pipes(bathtub, kitchen sink, etc) and is there any possible damage here aside from too hot water temp? i mean it seems like an easy solution if the pipe isn't totally clogged... just wondering...

 

[hj]

The detergent probably did NOTHING to help the flow. If it did, then washing machine drains would never plug up. Depending on what is in the pipe, the hot water might emulisify it and flush it down the drain.

 

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[Gary Swart]

It is likely the slowness was caused by a greasy build up in the trap area. The hot water would cool very quickly once in the drain, so would not be too effective beyond the traps. This apparently work for you this time, but don't count on soapy, hot water to clean all drain clogs or semi-clogs.

 

[44jd]

thanks...good points both...

 

[hj]

I tell my customers to fill the disposer side of the sink with hot water, then open the drain and run the disposer to force the hot water through the pipe with a scouring action. It may not help keep the drain open, depending on what is in it, but it will not cause any problems either.