Drano Max Gel Clog Remover ~ Not My Favorite
Written: May 19 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Effectively removes hair, soap scum clogs
Cons: Consistency too thick, opaque bottle doesn't allow accurate application
The Bottom Line: Effective at clearing slow drains, but consistency too thick. Opaque bottle doesn't let you divide bottle into two equal applications.
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| amyk49's Full Review: Drano Max Gel Clog Remover |
Our shower/tub needs a fairly regular dose of clog remover to keep it flowing freely, due mostly to hair, with some added soap scum and the like. You know the drill. My drain cleaner of choice has been Liquid-Plumr Professional Strength Gel Clog Remover, but when I went shopping they were all out, so I settled for Drano Max Gel Clog Remover. I think I'll be sticking with Liquid-Plumr in the future.
Anyway, here's the scoop on Drano Max Gel Clog Remover:
~ Product Description
The bottle declares, "NEW easy pour gel! Clings to remove clogs BEST. Powers away kitchen and bathroom clogs." The bottle further tells us this is "Safe on Pipes!" You can use Drano Max Gel Clog Remover for:
- Bath tub and sink
- Kitchen sink with or without a garbage disposer
- Laundry/Utility
- Standing water
- Slow drains
And it is safe for Metal and plastic pipes, as well as septic systems.
The directions for use say to pour 1/2 bottle of Drano Max Gel slowly into drain. (For extremely slow-running drains or complete clogs, pour in entire bottle.) Allow the product to work for 15 minutes (or 30 minutes for tough clogs). Flush with hot water. Repeat steps if necessary.
For garbage disposal drains, use the same directions, but if drain has not cleared, DO NOT turn on the disposal since you may get some splash back. This is not for use in toilets.
~ Some Important Cautions
Open the bottle carefully. Avoid splashing. Be sure to clean up spills at once. Keep hands, face, children and pets away from treated drains. Never use a plunger during or after use. Treat this stuff carefully, folks, as with any drain cleaner.
~ My Experience
The directions say to use 1/2 the bottle per application, unless it's a really bad clog, then use the whole bottle. My clogs are not all the bad, so I generally use the 1/2 bottle application. Drano has even provided a nice dotted line on the back label indicating where 1/2 the bottle is. The only problem is the bottle is opaque so you have absolutely NO IDEA where the level of the liquid is inside the bottle. Their convenient dotted line is perfectly useless! This is a thick gel, and as you're pouring you truly have no idea how much is left in the bottle. Bottom line, you tend to use too much just to make sure, and then you're left with one wimpy application. (Liquid-Plumr has the same design, by the way.) This is a pet peeve of mine. And pardon my rant, but come on! Can you say "marketing ploy"? You just end up using and buying more than necessary.
Now, on to how well this works. I noticed that Drano Max Gel Clog Remover is extremely thick. Very, very thick in consistency. As I mentioned, I'm using this in my bath tub/shower, and the drain has one of those metal stoppers attached which is suspended, if you will, over the drain when it's up and open. Trying to pour the Drano Gel into the drain is a slow process because it's so thick. In fact, it's so thick it barely runs down into my drain. It tends to pool up around the stopper thingy and not all the product seems to go down into the drain. Most does, but some still remains pooled up around the stopper.
As for the scent or smell, it is not very noticeable, certainly not overpowering or offensive. I noticed a slight bleachy scent while it was working in the drain.
I left it that way for the suggested fifteen minutes, then turned on the hot water to flush. Since some product was still, after 15 minutes, pooled up around the stopper, naturally I got some splash back when the water hit it. It didn't splash up on me, and now I know to not turn the water on full blast. But I would have preferred the product ALL go down the drain (like my Liquid-Plumr does.)
The clog was gone, however, and Drano Max Gel did get my drain flowing freely again. It does work well on hair and soap scum type bathroom clogs.
I've never had to use this on a clog with standing water. With its very thick consistency, I don't see how it could flow to the clog, but I've never tried it so I don't really know for sure.
~ Final Thoughts
Drano Max Gel Clog Remover was too thick for me. Gel clog removers in general are good I think, because they tend to cling to the clog and be more effective. But I had trouble getting this to flow down and around my bathtub stopper. This allowed some product to remained pooled up and caused splash-back when the water was turned on. And then there's my rant about the opaque bottle which doesn't allow you to divide up the bottle into two applications with any degree of accuracy.
I'm going back to Liquid-Plumr Professional Strength Gel Clog Remover, which still features a gel consistency yet pours easier and completely into my drain.
Since it did remove my clogs, I'll recommend this. But watch out for the thick consistency that might give you some splash back.
Recommended:
Yes
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