Well out kitchen sink was clogged, we tried blasting it with the hose, didnt work, then had to take apart pipes and replace them, luckily my hubbby knows how to do it. So... he is blaming my soap, I do wash my crock pot and utensils, with cp there isnt much residue left in the pot, hp there is, I do scrape as much as I can and then let it soak, I dont know what to do differently, I guess I could dump my soaking pot outside( I live in the woods.)? Ive been soaping for 5 yrs, so it took awhile to clog the drain, if thats even why!
clogged pipes
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I'm sorry to hear you had this problem and your husband is blaming you. Could use something like Liquid Plumber or Draino once a month to help keep the pipes cleared?
thefarmerdaughter
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I live in the sticks, too. After my pots soak I dump out side, away from the creek, chickens,dogs,goats and children.
No matter how careful you are, grease builds up in pipes over time. If this is the first time you've had to unclog in 5yrs or more, you have done well. Was it in the pipes under the sink or further down? If under the sink in the area of the 'p' trap, it's really not a big deal. Further down the line in a turn usually requires a long electric snake. Drano, liquid plumber and the like are ok as a preventative as mentioned but once clogged they really aren't strong enough. Soap may have contributed but I'll bet there was a lot more gunk in there with it. I just throw a little lye down the drain and add cold waterfrom time to time. Boil and bubble, toil and trouble... 
For maintenance, I dump a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of warmed white vinegar down the drain, let it bubble awhile (anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight), then flush with hot water. Maybe once a month or so. For a clog I use lye, as Dennis suggested. One heaping spoon of crystals (be careful!), followed by one cup of COLD water. Wait a few minutes, then flush with cold water.
You can try wiping as much residue as possible off everything with a paper towel first. Or... try some d-limonene, it is great at cutting through the greasiness of raw soap and breaking it all up. Use up to 10% of it in your dish soap, works really really well.
You can try wiping as much residue as possible off everything with a paper towel first. Or... try some d-limonene, it is great at cutting through the greasiness of raw soap and breaking it all up. Use up to 10% of it in your dish soap, works really really well.
cp chick
Well-Known Member
Your soap may have contributed to it, but would not be the main cause. Years before I started making soap, my hubby had to replace a section of pipe draining from the kitchen to the main at the bathroom. The diameter was about half what it should be from grease buildup. Unless you swab the heck out of dishes with a paper towel beforehand, a bit of grease will go down the drain each time you do dishes. Over the years it will build up. I've used the baking soda trick, but now that I have lye around, I'll probably switch to that once in a while.
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I don't even use lye anymore to unblock the drain, since making soap I soak the bucket and utensils in boiling water then throw it in the garden where I don't want weeds to grow then wash in the kitchen sink as normal, now when the water goes down it actually makes that loud slurpping sound and drains really well, no hassles.
