We have had a slow-moving bathtub drain since the spring. During our showers we'd end up standing in a couple inches of water. We tried everything - Dran-o and Liquid Plumber, bleach, boiling water, a plunger, a plastic zip-it thing and a hand held snake. Nothing worked. Every couple of weeks we'd have a conversation that went kind of like this:
"We should call a plumber."
"Yeah, we really should."
And that would be it.
So I was perusing Yahoo! Answers one day to see what others had to say about slow bathtub drains (and, oh, how I love Yahoo! Answers). Someone mentioned this thing called Kleer Drain, so I looked it up. Kleer Drain uses a CO2 cartridge to shoot a blast of air down the pipe, clearing out the clog. It sounded too easy, but I looked up consumer reviews, and people were raving about it. So I picked one up at Home Depot for about $25.
The package looks kinda complicated (at least it did to me), but it's really not. It only took a few minutes to put it together and install one of the four CO2 cartridges. I was so excited. I put a few inches of water in the tub, put duct tape over the overflow thing, pressed the end of the Kleer Drain apparatus over the drain to get a good seal, and pushed down on the handles.
And nothing happened.
There were a few bubbles from the drain and an exhaust-y kind of smell from the cartridge, but I knew right away that it didn't work. My heart sank. I pictured myself using the other three CO2 cartridges, accepting defeat, and continuing to put off calling a plumber. I half-heartedly unscrewed the cap, took out the old cartridge and put in a new one. Went back to the tub, got a good seal, pressed down, and.... Bubbles! Exhaust-y smell! SUCCESS! The water in the tub drained in record time. The drain works better than the day we moved in now, and I am one happy homeowner who doesn't have to call a plumber.
I love this thing!
Check out www.kleerdrain.com if you've been avoiding calling a plumber, too.
