slow kitchen drain

[T]

Hi All,

I have a slow kitchen drain.

I has used several of the liquid plumber and friends things down the drain. Upon flushing after the wait period, the drain runs beautifully.

But 20 minutes later, it is back the way it was.

further down the drain pipe, the washer exhausts into the same drain pipe. The washer has no problem at all. So I presume, the clog is somewhere between the kitchen sink and where the washer enters.

I have poked around the sink pipe with one of those hair grabbers and nothing but a slight amount of scum comes back.

Any words of wisdom? Is there a better chemical to try? Is it time to call a plumber?

Many thanks,

-T

[philo]

Snake it out or use a drain plunger

[T]

Drain plunger doesn't work. Tried several time.

Snake: I have a nice snake for clearing toilets, but the end piece won't fit through the sink grill.

Is there a special snake that is a lot smaller?

Cussing doesn't work either (not an admission that I cuss).

[philo]

Most plumbers just cut or break the head off

[T]

The cord itself would not fit though the grill.

I had though of removing the U pip and entering that way. What a pain in the but.

What do you think?

[philo]

Maybe you can go to the hardware store and find one that will fit

Home Depot should have a cheap 1/4" variety

If the grill is less than 1/4" you will have to disassemble or try just making your own snake with wire or a coat hanger...

[Paintedcow]

Remove the drain trap (U pipe). Thats the only way to do it. If necessary, buy a new trap kit. The PVC ones are not costly, and replace the whole trap unit.

I have freed partially clogged drains by shoving a garden hose in the drain, with a washcloth around the drain, to force as much water as possible down the drain, and not into the sink. Be sure to have another person at the spigot where the hose is connected to shut it off quickly if it starts to overflow.

If it's a double sink, you'll need to seal the other drain with a piece of rubber or something, and have yet another person hold it down tightly. This is not a one person operation. but it often works.

By the way, if this was a bathroom sink, you'd have to seal the overflow opening. Again, rubber and someone to hold it, works.

[dadiOH]

Take off the P trap and snake from there.

[T]

I am going to try the $3 sink snake from Ace first. If that doesn't work, then it is the P trap and and my 6 foot toilet snake.

[SeaNymph]

Have you tried hydrogen peroxide?

[bob haller]

think a big bucket of VERY HOT WATER, after the liwuid plumber has dont it thing.

most of the time i just use very hot water

[TimR]

Never do that or use a plunger on a kitchen sink.

You'll just force crud through the dishwasher hose into the dishwasher. Good luck getting that out again.

Yeah, I know because I made that mistake. Once. Now I pull the trap and snake it.

[EXT]

I find most liquid drain cleaners don't do anything as they are not strong enough. The best one I have found is an acid based drain cleaner, it is made by a few companies but may be hard to find, last time I got some from Lowes. You can tell if it is acid based by reading the ingredients which will have a warning that it is acid. I got an example of how well it works when I wiped some drips from the mouth of the bottle with a Kleenex, a few minutes later the wet area turned brown and dissolved. Use care as it can do a lot of damage to you or your possessions, probably not safe on old metal drain pipes, OK on plastic pipes.

[TimR]

I think acids eat different things than alkalis, so it might depend on what the clog is.

Years ago I disposed of a small quantity of HCl left over from a floor tile job by diluting it in a five gallon bucket of water and pouring down the t oilet. The most foul odor you can imagine rose from the vent stacks and yo u could smell it so strong outside I thought the neighbors would complain. I guess even diluted it reacted with whatever organic crud was lining the pipes. The drains did run much better though.

[DerbyDad03]

What kind of pipes do you have?

If you have galvanized, they may be so clogged up with scum and debris that all you have left is a small, spiraling hole through the gunk.

I opened up my galvanized pipes to install a disposer many years ago and was amazed that the sink drained at all. 6 feet of pipe from the sink to the stack in the basement and you couldn't see through any 2 foot section of it.

I replaced it all with PVC and haven't had a clog in 30+ years of disposer use with a family of 6.

[Paintedcow]

That might be true for people who HAVE a dishwasher. I have 2 dishwashers, my right and my left hand!

[T]

PVC

[DerbyDad03]

Any update on the clog since Mar 7th?

Have you opened up the trap yet?

[T]

Haven't had the time. I actually had customer appointments out of the office four days this week, which is a good sign. usually, I only get one day out a week with this recession.

I put the three dollar plastic thing down and got nothing back, not even any grease. So, the clog must be further down the line. That would explain why chemicals don't work. They sit in the p-trap, which is clean already.

:'(