First time brewer here, just finished bottling my beers yesterday. However, I made my first rookie mistake. I thought it would be a brilliant idea to dispose of my wort and any left over residue (post bottling) down my bathtub drain. As I began to pour it down the drain, I quickly realized that the sediment would clog my drain, but alas, a good little bit still made its way into my bathtub and into my pipes. I have cleared out as much as I can, but has anyone else run into this problem? How can I clear out my drain? I've tried drain-o, a vinegar and baking soda combo and warm water, but nothing's worked.
Help! Wort down the drain...
- Thread starter skier22
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BendBrewer
Well-Known Member
Did you happen to close your drain in the process? I have to ask. I've done that.
I normally flush my cakes down the toilet if not re-using them.
HD sells some stuff that is a lot better than Drano. (Drano doesn't work if you ask me). Can't remember the name of it but they have to keep the bottle in a bag on the shelf. Nasty stuff but works every time. That is, if your drain is open..........
I normally flush my cakes down the toilet if not re-using them.
HD sells some stuff that is a lot better than Drano. (Drano doesn't work if you ask me). Can't remember the name of it but they have to keep the bottle in a bag on the shelf. Nasty stuff but works every time. That is, if your drain is open..........
Rivenin
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i put a good amount of water in the bucket, swirl and slowly dump down the drain along with the water running a bit, haven't had stuck sink yet. when i'm brewing through it's only small small small particles going down the drain. Worse stuff goes down the drain when i do dishes or have parties lol if i dry hop with whole leaf hops, that stuff gets dumped in the trash. but i'm with bend brewer and saying is that little flap opened or closed
cklages
Well-Known Member
I'm going to guess that your drain was probably pretty close to clogged already and that trub just pushed it over the edge. The bad news is that its probably mostly hair and soap scum, and that stuff is tough. Draino sometimes will do the job if given enough time, but the suggestion to snake it was probably the best idea (assuming that the drain didn't get pushed closed as was also suggested).
Considering however, that you already used draino, be very careful about splashing. If that stuff ends up in your eyes, the damage would be considerable and potentially permanent.
Interesting side note, you may find that dumping a kettle of boiling hot water down the drain every few weeks may help keep the drains running better. Don't do this until the clog is cleared and your chemical soup is washed down though!
Considering however, that you already used draino, be very careful about splashing. If that stuff ends up in your eyes, the damage would be considerable and potentially permanent.
Interesting side note, you may find that dumping a kettle of boiling hot water down the drain every few weeks may help keep the drains running better. Don't do this until the clog is cleared and your chemical soup is washed down though!
Use a snake, chemical products are dangerous to handle and mostly ineffective. I just dump the trub outside: the less solids that go down the drain, the better, altough I do flush down yeast cakes from time to time down the toilet in several steps.
