Plugged up drain.

[dj1701]

Pour some down vent pipe too. Whatever clog, dead rat, etc will be gone.

Wonder what that would do to the septic?

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Wonder what that would do to the septic?

I've used it, septic is ok.
From Amazon:
"Liquid Fire provides a powerful, fast-acting solution for both slow-running and fully clogged drains. It works great for drain pipes in sinks, tubs, shower stalls, plus septic tanks and laterals."

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

IF you use it...trust me...open window FIRST!
It works but smokes violently. If you have pets or kids I'd get them out the house for an hour or two.

 

[dj1701]

IF you use it...trust me...open window FIRST!
It works but smokes violently. If you have pets or kids I'd get them out the house for an hour or two.

Guess if all else fails, and I would have to wait for good weather.

 

[stumblinhorse]

I see a lot of comments about using a snake. On a kitchen pipe a snake is going to provide just a little bit of relief. It will simply just punch a hole in the muck and let it drain a little better. The link I posted to the water snake is what I have needed to clear pipes. Blasts them completely clean and you are good for another few years. It is a build up of muck that needs to be blasted clean. I had the slow drain problem for years until I cleaned the pipes instead of snaking them.

 

[OldMcDonald]

I see a lot of comments about using a snake. On a kitchen pipe a snake is going to provide just a little bit of relief. It will simply just punch a hole in the muck and let it drain a little better. The link I posted to the water snake is what I have needed to clear pipes. Blasts them completely clean and you are good for another few years. It is a build up of muck that needs to blasted clean. I had the slow drain problem for years until I cleaned the pipes instead of snaking them.

The only way to do it for anything other than temporary relief. Professional companies use them in Europe and Australasia.

 

[kenmac]

PVC is bad about soap scum building up on the inside walls. especially if you have a dishwasher that drains into the same line.
Mostly only 1.25''-1.5'' drain line

 

[cameronwhite]

I completely agree with you about the benefits of using a water snake for clearing kitchen pipes. I also had the same slow drain problem for years and tried using a snake, but it only provided temporary relief. However, I recently found the experts from www.maida.com.au and they completely solved my pipe system problem with their advanced techniques. They used a high-pressure water jet to blast through the buildup of muck and now my pipes are completely clean and functioning smoothly. I highly recommend Maida to anyone who is facing similar issues with their pipes.

 

[denchen]

I ocasionally have to use my pipe cleaning nozzel on my pressure washer hose. It realy does get rid of all the muck. I'm not saying where all the crud goes, you have to find out yourself, but it goes everywhere no matter how you think you've got it covered. but the pipes all finish up clean.

 

[LD1]

All houses are plumbed different....so its hard to say.

I had an issue with my kitchen drain a few years ago. The kitchen is about 30' away from the main plumbing and the rest of the house and has its own vent stack through the room. The "clog" was at some point after the vent stack. And its a double sink. So after figuring out how to plug the drain I WASNT plunging.....I plunged and plunged to no avail. I had to climb on the roof and plug the vent stack. Still couldnt get it to plunge.

Went to the shop......and believe it or not....NPT pipe unions.....the female half (dont remember the size) will actually thread onto the p-trap. So with a reducer and a tee, with a pressure gauge, valve, and air nipple.....I hooked it up to the compressor and slowly started letting pressure build.....

About 8PSI she finally let go and havent had problems since.

But a word of caution if anyone else wants to try this......put something.....like an old bath towel or something over other drains in the house. Cause I had a helluva mess in the stand up shower in the master bath

But.....even after it was clear......It was another two months before I realized I had the vent on the roof still plugged and never had an issue with draining.

IF your lines are clear......it should never NOT drain due to a vent......the vent is to keep your p-traps full instead of sucking them dry when flushing a toilet

 

[mikester]

I think the OP needs to call a plumber. If it was me I'd start by removing the trap and physically cleaning out the drain.

Chemical cleaners can destroy your metal plumbing fittings, especially the newer made in china fittings that are paper thin and made from crap metal.

 

[5030]

All plastic here and a septic system too. I use Sodium Hydroxide also known as Lye myself and it's never caused septic tank issues but I do have the tank pumped every 3 years per local ordinance.

Available at a local hardware or Lowes or any box store. If that don't work, call a plumber.

 

[dj1701]

Anyone ever try one of those pump or pressure plungers? They have one in Harbor Freight for $9.99 and it got good reviews. Might be worth a shot for that price.

 

[westcliffe01]

I had a problem with my kitchen sink drain too. I didnt biuld the house, had no knowledge of what route the drain line took. I tried clearing it out with 25ft long drain cleaner, that got me no-where. Called a plumber, he ran his drain cleaner down it, put more than 40ft down that drain. That got it working again, but not perfect. Slow flow, shall we say. Later tore up the tile floor, pulled up the cement board for a new tile floor, removed all the kitchen cabinets. removed some of the sub floor to re-position the hot and cold water lines for the sink so they came out the wall instead of coming out the floor. Did the same with the drain line. Discovered the the drain line runs near horizontal the entire length of the house. The only fall is the height of the floor joists, less than 10" total. I changed the sharp 90 degree elbows for long radius elbows and eliminated about 6 feet of extra pipe that they had in the wall. The pipe in the wall had an accumulation of fat in it with a hole going through the blockage the diameter of the stem of the drain cleaner or about 3/8". The rest was a solid plug. I think I have it sorted now and it should be a lot easier fishing something through it....

 

[Boss 302]

GREASE, kitchen grease will attach to the pipes and over several years it decreases the size of the pipe, a 1 1/2" pipe soon becomes reduced to a 3/4" pipe. That's why the drain slows down and over time it plugged. There are many types of heads that attach to drain snake, best to use a cutter head that will expand to the pipe walls and clean the pipe as it goes.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

That explains my colon

 

[NHBX]

That explains my colon

Waaay to much info

 

[dj1701]

I stopped at Harbor Freight today and purchased one of those "As seen on TV" power plungers for $9.99.

I plugged the outlet from the dishwasher and started running hot water. It was not long before I had a bunch of water in the sink.
I pulled the plunger arm to get as much water into the device as I could. I hammered it with everything I had. I did this several times.
Soon the water ran freely down the drain and did not back up anymore.

I'd say it was a win for only a few bucks.

I want to thank all of you for your comments and options. It's what makes this forum such a great place to come for advice.

Dave

 

[Yander]

We had a slow draining bathtub for several years my wife would put pour drain cleaner down at every 3 or so weeks. Finally just decided to try this stuff it is amazing. It blew it wide open now I think she just does it once a year.

Robot or human?

 

[kenmac]

bacteria is what makes a septic system work. If you use harsh chemicals, you kill off this bacteria that makes the septic system work