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Posted

My own website and I can't find a single recommendation for a plumber in Northern Virginia. :angry:

Anyone? Preferably one who won't take a rat-tail file to me for unclogging a drain on a weekend?

I've tried everything, and it's infuriating because the clog is only about six inches down, but *nothing* is going through it - boiling water, coat hanger, drain cleaner, filling the tub with hot water, plunging - I'm betting five seconds with a power snake, and it's done ... and I'll be out $150.

I've also given MVP Plumbing first dibs. See what you can do for your friends and relatives if you recommend them on these forums? :)

Posted

We have normally always used Michael and Sons, but we have only had larger problems: replacing toilets, heater problems, etc.  Don't know what they would charge for something small.  

Posted

We have been lucky and only needed a plumber for installing a humidifier on our furnace.  I made several calls and hired Kesterson.  They did a great job, and were honest enough to eat the cost of a mistake they made.  They didn't check inventory at their supplier and were unable to get the humidifier model they used in the bid, so they installed a pricier model but didn't charge us more.  It's worked beautifully for five years now, so I couldn't be happier. 

Posted

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. After three days and too many chemicals, I got it unclogged. It just took iteration, after iteration, after iteration, and finally, I got it - I stared it down, almost willing it to show me some symptoms of a vortex, and sure enough, a tiny little "tornado tail" appeared, then went away, but at that point, I knew things had turned.

I think purchasing a power snake - and learning how to use it - when you're young is a good investment of both money and time. One single call avoided to the plumber pays for it, and over the course of your life, you'll have more than one time when you're sorely tempted to call. It doesn't have to be the Best On The Market; just something that you can use a dozen times over a period of thirty years (which is saying something).

Large pasta pots full of boiling water do wonders, but not this time despite having tried about five times.

Other than one time when I was young and ignorant (coffee grounds in a disposal), I'm batting 1.000 in terms of unclogging single drains without a plumber. There was, however, a time when I needed the lines snaked out to the street, and that is indeed plumbers' work.

Don't be fooled by these B.S. "Combo Kits" that have a little can of Draino accompanied by a red, plastic, barbed "snake" - the red barbs break off during the snaking process, and even the main trunk can break. When I was plunging, plunging, plunging this time around, something started poking through the top (overflow) drain - it was a 4-5-inch-long piece of one of these red plastic things which had apparently been there for years. It poked its head through a few times, just to the point where I was able to pull it out. From personal experience, I think an untwisted coat hanger is the better option, and it costs nothing. If you're dealing with "Hairball From Hell" (and I'm assuming I was), all these red, plastic things do is fold back over on themselves while the barbs break off.

Plumbing is *disgusting*, and it's worse when it's your tub because there's nothing you need more than a shower. Well, I guess a toilet could be worse in theory. :o

Again, thank you to everyone here for having taking the time to reply. Chalk one up for the manly man.

One last thing: I'm proud to say that I took what I learned in Boy Scouts, and apply it in real life: When I find a dirty toilet in a restaurant - *especially* in a handicapped stall - I clean it to the point where someone who had an emergency could use it hygienically. And quite frankly, I'm pretty proud of that. Put yourself in the position of a person in a wheelchair, or even worse - someone who's blind - needing to go badly, and consider doing the same? It's one little way to make this a better world, and you don't even have to tell anyone you did anything (it's probably not optimal first-date conversation material). :lol:

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Posted

I'll add to this thread the Irish Plumber.  Love 'em.  They've fixed two toilets, a leaky bathtub faucet, and biggest of all, replaced a hot water heater (mercifully, I caught the end of the old one's life when the evidence was at puddle stage).  For the latter, I called them at 9 a.m. and they were there at 2.  And I can talk hockey with two of the guys.

  • Like 1
Posted

I'll add to this thread the Irish Plumber.  Love 'em.  They've fixed two toilets, a leaky bathtub faucet, and biggest of all, replaced a hot water heater (mercifully, I caught the end of the old one's life when the evidence was at puddle stage).  For the latter, I called them at 9 a.m. and they were there at 2.  And I can talk hockey with two of the guys.

Many thanks to lovehockey for posting about The Irish Plumber.  We needed to have a toilet fixed earlier this week, so I consulted this thread.  I called The Irish Plumber at 7:00 am and left a message.  I received a return call at 7:30 and a plumber was at our door by 8:45.  Toilet was fixed by 9:45.  The plumber was friendly and professional and gave me a choice of two options and recommended the less expensive one.  I didn't comparison shop, so can't gauge how expensive this repair was compared with other plumbing companies.  We paid $260 for a partial rebuild of the toilet.  It was well worth it to us and next time I need a plumber, I'll be calling the Irish Plumber!

Posted

You can rent a snake from Home Depot for a few bucks. It's good fun if you like getting your hands dirty. Knowing how to use one is a good life skill. Sure youtube can cover that. Reverse only as a last resort. And make sure the snake works before taking it home. The machine is likely overkill and there are simpler/cheaper steps to do before you rent or call a plumber.

But first(now!), buy a drain cleaning bladder and keep it around. Cobra and Brasscraft make them. But you want the versions by GT. The have kits that adapt the bladder to your sink drains. These pulse water from a garden hose into a pipe. They expand to fill the pipe before they begin pulsing. I've used these in up to 4" lines. Very impressive what they can do. Drain King website.

Screenshot 2018-04-10 at 09.33.56.png

If you have a buildup you can use a pressure washer to do a homeowner style hydrojet with a Clog Hog. 

You need to know these things to keep restaurants running....

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