How to fix a clogged drain.....

{Bathroom grim at it's best!}

Warning:  GRAPHIC photos of moldy bathroom, grimy, drain-clogged goo to follow.......

I'm growing my hair long.....my husband has been asking me to do this for 14 years and I've always found an excuse not to.....I'm now out of excuses......

What that means in real-life is a constant supply of CLOGGED DRAINS!!  (It's not just me....my daughter has long hair, too! )

So I am making this post for myself so that I have picture instructions for next month when I need to do this again!

Now I realize....not all drains are alike.....if you happen to have one like mine, you are in luck, if not....go ask your husband for help! LOL

So.......crawl under you sink and look at the pipes.....your drain-plugger thinger is attached to stuff underneath...(Sorry....I have no idea what this stuff is called! ) 

I needed to squeeze the clip that was attached to the skinny metal rod to remove it.

After I squeezed it together I was able to slide it off that skinny metal rod.....that made that skinny metal rod loose....do you see the big screw in the top center of the picture....

You want to remove it.....remember "lefty loosy, righty tighty!"  (See Dad....I learned something! )

Once you have loosened that screw the whole piece will slide out of your pipe......

*Now here's an important little note......you've now made a HOLE in your pipe...any water you run will pour OUT OF THAT HOLE!! 

(Yes...the first time I did this, I didn't know about that wee-little hole and had to use about 5 towels to soak up all the water...grr!)

Once that piece slide out of your pipe, your drain-stopper-thingy will come right out of the drain......and this is where it's about to get GROSS!

There was just no way to crop this photo.....every time I did, it made the drain-stopper bigger and the mold come closer to the viewer!

The first thing I do is stick a paper towel down the drain to get the first round of gunk.....

And then I spray lots of this......like mist hanging in the air a lot!

Truly...it's like a science experiment down there.....hair + toothpaste = a substance that could be used as a weapon of mass destruction!  The smell alone made me want to vomit! (.....but I take comfort in that fact that we ALL have drain innards that look like this! )

If you drain is really bad (like mine!), you may need to dive down there with the needle-nose pliers.....

And for anyone still reading this post.....just work the directions in reverse and put everything back together.....always making sure to CHECK FOR LEAKS before you walk away and call the job done!

Happy plumbing!!