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The drain in the sink which we use for mouthwash consistently gets clogged by a very repugnant slime. I've tried all the common drain unclogging products (Drano, Liquid Plumber) as well as some non-standard remedies (e.g., boiling water, vinegar + baking soda), but none of them seem to help. Which means that once a year I have to disassemble the entire drain/trap assembly and manually scrub out the pipes. Can anyone offer another remedy?

(Note: as I've mentioned, this only happens to the sink where we use our morning mouth wash. We tried using a different sink -- to confirm the theory -- and sure enough, the bio-slime began to build-up in that sink instead. It is apparently caused by the bacterial discharge that is expectorated with the mouthwash.)

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You mention 'drain unclogging products', but have you tried any of the 'slow drain' products? Most require you to leave them for hours to work, but they're designed for this sort of stuff. Most mention enzymes on the packaging. – Joe Aug 29 '11 at 3:25
Is it feasible to spit into something else? If this is a bathroom sink, could you spit into the toilet instead? It sounds like the sink in question just isn't getting much traffic, so things aren't getting rinsed away. So if spitting ino the toilet is too gross, could you move some other regular action (shaving, rinsing things) to the troubled sink? – Kate Gregory Sep 1 '11 at 12:59

4 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

If it's a slime (i.e. something alive) you might want to try pouring some bleach down the drain to see if that helps. A couple of gallons of bleach shouldn't bother a municipal sewage line, but it might affect a septic system.

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The slime is likely only in the p-trap, which may require a cup, at most, of bleach. – DA01 Aug 3 '12 at 22:11
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You may want to try using a foaming action drain cleaner. The foam will expand to fill the pipe. Here is a link to one example for Drano Dual-Force Foam.

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Ordinary Drano and other clog removers are formulated mainly to dissolve hair and soap scum. For "bio-slime", you need something a little different. Look for "buildup remover" or "foaming pipe snake" products in the same area of the store as basic liquid drain openers. Use as directed, and they'll help considerably.

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I've had good results with liquid "foaming pipe snake", followed by a lot of hot water (filling the sink partway) followed by vigorous use of a plunger. The plunger will bring up a lot black gunk which was loosened by the foaming pipe snake, which you can then wipe up. – Shimon Rura Sep 8 '11 at 1:47
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Well, I tried all the suggested solutions and nothing helped. So I removed all the pipes and cleaned it out the hard way (paper towels, etc).

BUT, I was determined to prevent this from happening again, so I tried an experiment: for the last year I have stored a bottle of household disinfectant (Lysol, or generic/organic alternatives) conveniently near the sink. Now every time I use mouthwash at the sink, I chase it down with a few squirts of the disinfectant (and NO water). It has been nearly a year of daily use, and so far, no slime, no sluggish drain. I can live with that

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