Mr Muscle Kitchen & Bathroom Drain Gel

A few weeks back I discovered the water wasn't draining away as quickly from my bathroom sink. I couldn't see any hair clogging up around the plug area, but over the next couple of days it got worse with water taking longer and longer to drain away, so on my day off from work I bought a plunger and used it thinking that it would do the trick. However, this seemed to have little effect at all other than actually making it worse, as the water seemed to be barely draining away at all after this.

I had heard about products you can buy which you pour down the sink to clear a blockage, but had never actually used any before and so I was a little sceptical as to whether these products were any good or not. I decided to take a look at them when I went shopping and that is where I came across this Mr Muscle Kitchen & Bathroom Drain Gel at my local Morrisons supermarket, priced at just under £4 for a 500ml bottle.

I was impressed by the claims on the bottle which inform you that this product will unblock in just 15 minutes and also that the gel sinks through standing water. As I had standing water in my bathroom sink by this time I was pleased to read this.
The only thing putting me off buying the product was the price as I thought it was a lot to pay if the product didn't actually work and although I love a couple of Mr Muscle products such as their glass and window cleaner, I have also experienced some poor products by this brand too.
However, I needed to do something and decided I would just have to buy some and hope for the best.

Mr Muscle Kitchen & Bathroom Drain Gel claims to clear tough and fully blocked sinks fast and effectively. For use on both kitchen and bathroom blockages, it is safe for all pipes and septic tanks and will kill any odours.
The directions for use are simple as you are directed to simply pour the entire bottle of thick gel down the plughole.
Although I had baled out most of the standing water from the bathroom sink, there was still around an inch remaining which I could not remove and so I began pouring the contents of the bottle down the plughole and can confirm that although the water remained standing in the sink, the contents sunk through this standing water just as promised.

The directions for use also state that for tough clogs you should leave the product to work overnight and I decided to do this just to be on the safe side instead of trying the 15 minutes claim. My reasoning for this being that the water had not been draining at all and the plunger had no effect, so maybe this was a bad blockage and would benefit from an overnight soak.

The next morning, there still appeared to be the same amount of water in my sink although it was foamy and discoloured. I attempted to pour hot water down the plughole as directed to flush it and although there was some improvement, as the water was draining away again, it was still slow.
I decided to have a last attempt with the plunger, thinking that maybe if the gel had loosened the blockage somewhat then maybe the plunger would help clear it and it would seem that maybe I was right as a quick plunge with the plunger saw the my sink quickly draining away once more.

Although I seemed to need a helping hand from the plunger to unblock my sink, this product must have had some effect too, as the plunger had no effect prior to using this product, so I still believe it was money well spent as it was certainly cheaper than calling out a plumber!
Mr Muscle also state you should pour half a bottle of this product down your sinks weekly to keep them clear and prevent blockages occurring, which is a clever marketing ploy by them I think!

Overall I was pleased I bought this product as I believe it helped clear my sink, although I did need a helping hand from the plunger too. Maybe for blockages not as bad as mine, this product will do the trick on its own.

This product is suitable for all sinks except those with waste disposal units. It should not be used where there are gold plated fittings or on old worn enamel or chrome. it should also not be used in toilets.