Unplug a Bath Tub Drain Trap

First, remove the overflow trim. Then, insert a water hose down overflow. Stop up tub drain and open water hose. It will flush out the trap. It works great.

Jack Aucoin
4642 Elizabeth Street
Napoleonville, Louisiana, 70390

A DIY Die

Here’s a Tool Tip I use on 1 1/2-inch galvanized nipples. I mainly use this to clean the threads when replacing the waste and overflow on a tub because of the tight confines usually associated with slab tubs.

I take a 1 1/2-inch brass nut and cut through the threads at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock with a small saw. Don’t cut all the way through the nut, just the threads. I spray some WD-40 and work the threads with the nut until clean. 

Basically, I make a die without the weight, size or awkwardness of a die. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not making new threads. I’m cleaning the junk out of the old threads for a clean install.
 

Dana Drew
Beacon Plumbing
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
 

P.S. Here are a few other things I do:

• I cut off the handles of used copper-cleaning brushes and stick them in my power drill to clean paint off pipes.
• I use my old motor oil for cutting oil.
• I keep the used rags from applying tire protectant to wipe down extension cords and certain tools to make them clean and shine.