..and out popped a plumber! (Harpic Power Jet)

Member Name: janharper

Product:	Harpic Power Jet
Date:	17/07/04 (850 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheaper than live plumber

Disadvantages: use only once

Anybody know how much a plumber costs? I would guess at around fourty pounds for a call out (or more, depending on where you live), plus the time the job takes and this is usually at least an hour. That's about seventy pounds by my wreckoning.

Then there's the time you have to take off work waiting for the plumber to arrive.'Yes, madam, I'll be there before 10am and it should only take ten minutes'. Six hours later you are still waiting.

So, I saved myself almost sixty-five pounds this week and another day off work which adds up to around £100 if you're self employed as I am.

Total saved by using this amazing product: £170.

Let me start at the beginning. I had a kitchen sink that was running away very slowly and I did nothing about it until it was taking half an hour to empty. What did I do? I unscrewed the u-bend and cleaned it out, put the whole thing back together and thought I'd solved the problem. The water still would not run away. There was obviously a blockage in the main pipe leading from the sink to the drain.

I thought I was going to have to pay a plumber until a friend said that she had used Harpic Powerjet and would thouroughly recommend it.

This stuff comes in a can which looks like an overgrown aerosol, or a miniature fire extinguisher, which ever description takes your fancy. The can itself is blue and it has a bright red top made of plastic. Inside lurks a canned plumber. You cannot see him; he has no name; but he's waiting for your command.

First of all, be warned, read the instructions. I pulled the top off thinking that I didn't need instructions and I had great difficukty in replacing it in exactly the right position,(this is important in the operation of the canister).

First of all you need to put about 1.5 inches depth of water into this sink. This helps to prevent airlocks in the pipe.

Then you turn the top part of the red top until the arrow lines up with the narrow slot on the lower half. These marks are not easy to find so make sure that you know where they are before you start twisting and turning the two halves of the top. The arrow on the top half points down but it's quite hard to find. There are two slots on the bottom half and it's the narrow on of these you need to align with the arrow. They are both small s
lots so make sure that you select the narrower one.

Once your arrow and slot are aligned you can place the canister, upside down, over the plughole.

Take a wet dishcloth and hold it over the overflow at the back of the sink. This is to stop the compressed air from escaping that way.

Then you press down firmly on the bottom of the canister. You will hear a hissing sound. When it stops the job is complete.

The pressure released from the can can clear most blaockages in household pipes.

The canister cost me 3.95 at Wilkinsons and even if you take into account what it cost me to go and get it, I still saved sixty-five pounds on what a plumber would have charged me.

This is really easy to use and certainly worth trying before you pay someone to solve the problem for you.

Summary: Be your own plumber. Simple, efficient and very fast!