Black slime in pipes

snowey07

Hi all

I seem to have a black slime problem in all the pipework in the house. The water was draining slowly in the kitchen and bathroom and on further inspection the pipes as far as I can reach are all coated in a thick black sludge :-(

The pipes inside the house are all new ( four years old) as we got a new kitchen and bathroom fitted when we moved in.

Is there a diy way to clean them or should I go down the plumber route and get them jet cleaned . We're renting the house out from next Spring so would like to have it sorted properly before any tenants move in and have trouble with drainage

Thanks for any advice

wait4me

snowey07 wrote: »

Hi all

I seem to have a black slime problem in all the pipework in the house. The water was draining slowly in the kitchen and bathroom and on further inspection the pipes as far as I can reach are all coated in a thick black sludge :-(

When you say all pipes, I presume that you means just the waste pipes. Waste pipes handle a lot of gunge beit in the bathroom (toothpaste, soap) to the kitchen sink (usually kitchen dishwashing etc.) and this does build up. And it does look pretty horrible. Get a bottle of a sink waste cleaners ("something"-buster comes to mind). They are usually powder which you pour down the waste pipe; leave for about 20 mins and rinse out with cold water.

PS: Edit - As cletus says below - if you can take off the u-bends etc and wash-out and clean in a basin. You won't be able to use the sink

cletus

Be carefull putting stuff down your drains. Sometimes it can add to the problem. Under each sink you should be able to get to the s bend / u bend.

Take this off and clean it out in a basin. Bottle brushes can be useful here.

If you have partcularly hard water in your area (as I have) soap scum tends to build up much quicker.

Also a plunger is handy to have around the house. It doesnt have to be a fancy spring loaded one, the old fashioned wooden handled ones work fine

snowey07

Thanks everyone Ive already taken the u bend bit off and cleaned it but its also continues from there - down the pipes that I obviously cant remove !

wait4me

Perhaps you have to resort to chemicals so...

snowey07

yeah i guess Ill have to . :-(

perry stanley

Have you had the water tested , a basic test ?

Sleeper12

Try a plunger first. Used properly its is the best

snowey07

I dont think a plunger would get rid of the slime - its like goo . And yes I might need to get the water tested - it suds up well in the shower etc and tests really nice so I didnt think it was hard