My dear wife had a bath the other night and placed a number of candles around the bathroom. However she left one by the hand basin which melted very quickly and the wax ran down the plug hole blocking the sink. We have tried boiling water and some wax did float back up through the plughole but it is still not draining. Any ideas welcome.
Ged & Veronica Haresnape
A loving, gentle kick in the ass?
You need to take the drain apart right below the sink bowl. Unless you had a real freak occurence, the wax would have gathered in the trap, and there's nothing short of taking a torch to it that will get that wax hot enough to melt again while it's inside of there. You can chisel and scrape and try to dig it out, or take the old one to Ace and spend $4.00 for a new one (tell them you want one -without- the wax, they'll get a laugh out of that!)
Unless of course you read "trap" and started scratching your head. In that case call your handyman friend/relative or a plumber.
Seriously, just kidding about the kick in the ass. You have a wife that enjoys a touch of romance now and then, sometimes there's a bump in that road, it's part of the big picture. She probably feels terrible about doing it, so give her a good hug when it's all over and remind her that it was no big deal.
You're making this up, right? I read twice and laughed out loud twice. No similar experience (!), but I'm guessing the boiling water made things worse; that is, spread the problem further. Seems to me that taking apart the drain and scraping is in your future. Candles. So romantic. :-)
Never mind the wax-- does she have a sister;-)
Doc
the only trouble with heating the wax is that it will run further down the pipe and then harden up there..... not something that is wanted???? i would use a auger and hope it scapes up at chunks and flows down the drain and be with it.....
You ever tried to melt wax on purpose, outside of at the end of a burning candle? Trust me on this one: You can pour boiling water past that was for *DAYS* and it's not going to melt it. Those first few specs that came to the top were just that, tiny loose particles likely dislodged by the force of the water, the heat had nothing to do with it. That wax is in the trap, and it's staying there until it's dug out or tossed in the garbage.
Keep at it - wax floats, and if each batch of hot water softens a little bit, you will eventually get it clear (unless boiling water melts pvc :o) Skim what comes out, drain the sink, and add more hot water.
Take some coat-hanger wire and form a /\/\/ shape at the end, so it will still fit in the drain. After a dose of boiling water, try to force this wire into the plug of wax, and let it set again. If this doesn't work, try heating the wire with a torch or by leaving it on a hot stove element for a bit (mind your fingers); it should then melt its own way through the wax. Then heat up the trap using a hair dryer all around the pipe. This should melt the wax next to the inside of the trap and hopefully allow you to pull up the wax plug using the coat-hanger wire.
Remove the trap, put a big pot of water on the stove and boil the wax out. It will be much faster than constantly pouring hot water down the drain.
Why, don't the women you date bathe?
They do-- but not by candle light...
Doc
Right, if you have a modern house, the trap should be plastic and you should be able to take the trap apart with your hands. The wax most likely solidified in the trap. Just put the trap in a big container of boiling water.
if you cannot remove the trap as another poster suggested, you should be ok with the boiling water method... multiple appications might me needed... just skim the liquid wax off when it floats up. remove cold water (siphon/scoop) before adding the next batch of boiling water.
after you melt several times, pour a *large* batch of boiling water in... then gently plunge down and quickly pull up several times. you want to try to get any air past the trap out since it will insulate the wax from the hot water. it'd also be a good thing to get as much wax out since you don't want that solidifying in your pipes.
once it clears pour as much boiling water as you are able down the drains to keep any missed wax from solidifying in the pipes.
I'm no plumber, but i do make candles... my advice is free and worth every penny. ;)
Most likely the wax never made it past the standing water in the sink trap. Remove the trap & clean, & while the trap is off you can clean/scrape off whatever wax can be reached from underneath the sink. If your plumbing is old it would be a good idea to be prepared to replace the trap, it's not unusual to break one during removal.
Lundmark wax remover will disolve it
LOL! I did the same thing today and had to disasemble the pipes under sink(kitchen) @ the trap I pulled out a solid 6inch plug of wax from the vertical pipe. good luck doing a bathtub drain maybe a long drill bit ?
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