Follow-up on drain cleaning

This lovely hairball strand is from a bathroom sink that has a strainer basket.  Stuff still slips through so snaking the drain occasionally is definitely a good thing.

Sunday Randomness #284 : Simple cheapo plastic snake shower drain cleaning

 Take cover off drain by taking out the screw(s).

 Remove hair that is trapped at the top.

 Get out cheapo plastic drain snake thing.

Use snake by twisting to catch hair and debris and slowly and carefully pull out.  Be prepared to plug nose.  Carefully disentangle gross wad of matted hair gunk and throw in the garbage. (It's easier if you have gloves or a cleaning wipe [baby wipes or cleaning wipes both work well] and pull the gunk up past the teeth of the snake and then just pull it away.)  Clean snake thoroughly.  Put drain cover back on and screw into place.  Run some water to make sure the drain is clear.    We usually have to follow this procedure about every three to four months but it's cheap and effective so I'm willing to keep doing it.  I also scrubbed some of the floor with cleaner and a toothbrush but I really need to clean it more thoroughly and recaulk some areas.

DIY: Kitchen Faucet Replacement

Notice the hard water build-up

 Old kitchen sink faucet.

Parts for installation of new faucet

 New faucet, putty knife, plumbers putty, teflon tape, basin wrench

So pretty, no leaks, easy to adjust temperature and water flow!

New sink faucet.  What you don't see is that I also replaced some of the plumbing underneath since a pipe was a bit too short and jiggled loose, causing leaking fairly frequently.  We'd tighten the plastic nut a bit and call it temporarily good-the temporarily really meant "I can't be bothered to fix this right now because I can't afford a plumber and I'm scared to do it myself and I don't want to bother anyone about a repair that is merely an annoyance and not a true household emergency."

For years we kept a pitcher under the leak and emptied it weekly.  At the encouragement of my cousins (you know who you are-visit them at www.homehinges.com) I got some replacement pvc pipe from my dad (who also helpfully loaned me his hacksaw) and cut the pipe to the right length to be a replacement.  Yes, I had to cut a couple of times and yes, the cut wasn't exactly even but...drum roll please....it's now been a couple of months and there's been ne'er a sign of leakage with the new pipe!

So, a win-win with a new faucet and new drainage. No more emptying a pitcher weekly from under the sink or trying to get exactly the right water pressure or temperature which was a bit tricky with the old faucet once it started to age.  Once again, DIY has saved the day!