clogged drain
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Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: Cincinnati Ohio
clogged drain
In our house all drains will drain fine except for our kitchen sink, it seems to drain slow only when it rains, it will start coming up in the other side of the sink, but it drains only slowly, we have poured things down it things for clogges and thnigs to kill roots, do you suggest to go out and rent a snake and run through it.
Hotshot
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 13,589
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From: NW burbs of chicago
I'd snake it or plug the one drain real good (like with a wet rag), then plunge it real good. Thats what I ended up doing with my bath drain. Snake helped, but the plunger and me being crazy rocked it
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Eastern WA
A snake is worth a shot. However, I found a really good liquid drain cleaner called Rooto. This is powerful stuff and you won't find it at Lowes or those kind of places. I found it at an Ace Hardware. It's something like $20 for a half gallon and comes in a 1 qt size; you won't need anywhere near the whole bottle. Unlike Draino, Liquid Plumber, and the rest of the wussy brands this is seriously powerful stuff. Therefore, make sure you read all safety precautions on the back. Sulfuric acid in your face = bad news. BTW, your neighbors will just love the smell comming out of your vents 
.
I had a drain that the $100 roto-rooter whatever punk couldn't clean. Yeah, he snaked it but mimimal results. Then came Rooto liquid drain cleaner
.
.I had a drain that the $100 roto-rooter whatever punk couldn't clean. Yeah, he snaked it but mimimal results. Then came Rooto liquid drain cleaner
.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 288
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From: Northeast Wisconsin
Have your removed and cleaned the trap? Maybe there's a utensil, like a fork, in it. It's not an uncommon problem.
Be careful if you try to snake the drain without removing the trap. Some of the thin copper and plastic traps are easy to puncture when you try to bend the snake around the curve at the bottom of the trap, especially if it is partially plugged. It's best to remove the trap and manually clean it. It only takes about 10 minutes, and can save you the hassle of a broken trap.Put a bucket under the trap when you remove it, because it'll be full of "yucky" water.
Does the sink have a disposal unit on one side? Of so, remove and clean the trap anyway. Put a bucked under the input side of the trap, and run wter into both sides of the sink to make sure the plumbing from each side is open to the trap. then, while you have the trap off, run a snake into the wall from discharge end of the trap. Much easier (and safer) than pushing the snake through the trap.
Is the vent pipe through the roof open? A bird's nest or other obstruction can make a sink drain slow because the air that's ahead of the initial water surge has no place to go.
Be careful if you try to snake the drain without removing the trap. Some of the thin copper and plastic traps are easy to puncture when you try to bend the snake around the curve at the bottom of the trap, especially if it is partially plugged. It's best to remove the trap and manually clean it. It only takes about 10 minutes, and can save you the hassle of a broken trap.Put a bucket under the trap when you remove it, because it'll be full of "yucky" water.
Does the sink have a disposal unit on one side? Of so, remove and clean the trap anyway. Put a bucked under the input side of the trap, and run wter into both sides of the sink to make sure the plumbing from each side is open to the trap. then, while you have the trap off, run a snake into the wall from discharge end of the trap. Much easier (and safer) than pushing the snake through the trap.
Is the vent pipe through the roof open? A bird's nest or other obstruction can make a sink drain slow because the air that's ahead of the initial water surge has no place to go.
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
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From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
a good trick after you get it flowing again is to plug the drain, fill the sink with hot as you can get it water, then pull the plug and let it empty. the hot water will break up any grease in the pipes and take it away. do this at least once a month and you will never have any more problems.
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Elder User
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Near the trees
Yank the p trap off and check it for grease and while it's off run a snake down the tube. After doing that and puttin it back together, use a liquid drain cleaner on it. Ya might oughta run a snake down the vent pipe also. If it only happens when it rains, it might be fillin with water too.
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Originally Posted by rmalottwtes30
Vent pipe, whats the reason for it?
your best bet is taking apart the trap like said before to check first if you find nothing in there
then:
running a snake i dont see it being roots since every where else drains fine if it was a root problem water would drain slow at the lowest point (9 times out of 10 the tub)
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
How can rain affect it?
Leaking pipe in a low spot?
Whatever it is it's mechanical. The pipe fills up when it rains maybe? How can that happen?
I reckon a stick of Anaconda might clear it, but that didn't work for the little house on the prairie either...
"K" sink is in an exterior wall (clue one).
"GREASE" (which can form "Marl") goes in it.
POINT: OUTLAW dumping grease or oil in the kitchen sink. Dump it in the garden.
ITEM A) You have a grease builup in your pipes on that drain.
ITEM B) That pipe has a leak in it - guaranteed. it ain't sealed or it would not be affected by ground water.
BET ME!!!
Leaking pipe in a low spot?
Whatever it is it's mechanical. The pipe fills up when it rains maybe? How can that happen?
I reckon a stick of Anaconda might clear it, but that didn't work for the little house on the prairie either...
"K" sink is in an exterior wall (clue one).
"GREASE" (which can form "Marl") goes in it.
POINT: OUTLAW dumping grease or oil in the kitchen sink. Dump it in the garden.
ITEM A) You have a grease builup in your pipes on that drain.
ITEM B) That pipe has a leak in it - guaranteed. it ain't sealed or it would not be affected by ground water.
BET ME!!!
Last edited by Greywolf; Jan 2, 2006 at 09:29 PM.
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 10,728
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From: Damascus-Boring, Ore
ITEM B) That pipe has a leak in it - guaranteed. it ain't sealed or it would not be affected by ground water.
Which brings to mind the really ugly question of where it's actually draining to.
Edit: cleaning out the traps around here happens about every six months. Amazing what 3 grrrls with long hair will do to your drains.
Which brings to mind the really ugly question of where it's actually draining to.
Edit: cleaning out the traps around here happens about every six months. Amazing what 3 grrrls with long hair will do to your drains.
Last edited by polarbear; Jan 3, 2006 at 12:10 AM.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 13,873
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From: Atlanta GA
For my clogged drains, if it is from minerals or grease, I remove the pipe to clean it and then clean whatever is after the trap with an old manual choke cable. Thin, flexible, and aggressive with the spiral housing. You can put it in an electric drill easy enough too. Then pour drain cleaner down the empty drain and trap, let it sit for an hour or so and flush with hot water.
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