Drains

Slow drains are almost always a buildup problem — hair and soap scum in bathroom lines, grease and food debris in kitchen ones. Chemical drain cleaners work in the short term but degrade older PVC and cast iron over time, and they do nothing for a physical blockage like a wad of hair at the stopper. A $10 drain snake handles most bathroom clogs in under ten minutes. Kitchen drains are trickier because the grease reform further down the line than the snake reaches. The guides here cover which method actually fits your situation, from simple bathtub drain swaps to clearing a stubborn basement floor drain.

Common problems