Anyone have plumbing experience?
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on July 28, 2016, 11:43 a.m. by ducttapedeckbox
This is a random thread, but maybe there's something I haven't tried short of calling a plumber.
Our kitchen sink is clogged (well, 95% clogged. It drains a liter or so every few hours). To attempt to fix the problem, I've:
- Removed the garbage disposal and cleaned it - no clog.
- Removed the trap assembly and cleaned it - no clog.
- Run an auger 20 feet into the piping - no change.
- Run a garden hose in from outside - shit that nobody should ever have to see came out, but no change in the clog
- Used draino - no change
- Used a plunger - no change
- Used hot water + vinegar (sometimes + baking soda) - no change
From the sink, the pipe goes horizontally for a meter and then is split vertically with a T - the down is obviously the drain, and the up is the vent. Based on the volume of water before the water backs up, I estimate that the clog is about a meter in, around the T. All other drains in our house are working properly.
This leads me to believe that either the vent pipe is clogged (though this is very rare and assumes that the kitchen sink is the only drain on this vent pipe, also unlikely) or that the clog is beyond the T and the augur would deflect upwards into the clear vent pipe and not affect the clog.
Does anyone have any suggestions before we call a plumber?
Have you tried a plunger?
I had a clogged drain in the bathtub, tried bleach, then hot water and vinegar, and neither worked. I was getting ready to go out and buy a snake when I saw the plunger. I plunged the drain for a couple of minutes, and when I ran some water it worked perfectly.
July 28, 2016 9:36 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #4
Thanks for the suggestions both of you. We ended up calling a plumber and they showed up within the half hour... Not bad. It took at least 40 ft of an augur to get to something, but it now works fine.
I guess one clog in the 17+ years isn't bad.
Epochalyptik says... #2
Seems like you've already done all the preliminary care. Plumber might be your best bet at this point.
If you're feeling brave, you can drain and disassemble the horizontal run and try to get directly at the drain assembly (and to visually check the pipe), but I can't think of much else you could do.
July 28, 2016 11:59 a.m.