Can anyone tell me what tool is used to open the clean out valve?
Why can't it be tool-less to get in?
Any tips on snaking it out?
Any snake recommendation? I have a short line (20 feet at most).
Anyone head of Root Kill? A plumber recommended to friend when plumber couldn't get flow problem resolved. Available at Home Cheapo. Anyone use it?
I know it's not a root problem. It just plain gunk.
The couple of times I've done that, I just remove the toilet in the basement bathroom and go out that way. Trying to crack open the cap on a 40 year old main cleanout seems like a bad idea. And, I think it's easier to work with the opening at floor level than chin level - where most cleanouts seem to be for some reason. Replacing the toilet only takes a couple of minutes. Depends on the layout whether that's a good idea or not.
Fill the line with hot water. Might help soften whatever is stuck in there and you get visual feedback when you've cleared the obstruction. But don't stop there. Keep going as far as you can or are comfortable with before declaring it fixed.
I've used 3 different types. Home Repo rents a snake for 4" line for about $70 a day. It worked great. Years later I rented one from the local tool place that was just too big and too hard to use. The snake came in 10' sections and had to be assembled one at a time. All I managed to do was push the plug farther down the pipe and is was backed up again the next day. So I sent the S.O. to a different rental place the next afternoon and when I got home a much smaller version of the H.D. style snake was waiting. It was for 3" or maybe even 2" but it worked surprisingly well. What it lacked in size and power it made up for by being very easy to use. It took a long time to get the line cleared.
Thanks for the info.
The clean out valve is ground level in backyard and there's no second toilet. I will try going thru the throne :) I just don't want the porcelin scratched...
Trust me don't go thru the throne. Use the clean out on the line going out to the street that is what it is for . Also if you have gunk it is not running fast enough .
Yes, it's an older house and the plumbing is running slow. I plunged and snaked and found no blockage at the toilet.
The line is 20 feet. Picture a straight line to the clean out vavle in back yard, right to left. At the right is the clean out vavle. 12 feet left is the tub, 3 feet is the kitchen bath sinks back to back, and 3 feet more is the toilet. It's very simple.
I ran water in the kitchen sink, bath tub and flush the toilet for 2 hours to no avail. I can try the throne. If that doesn't work, I can buy the tool to open the clean out valve, I guess.
Will running copious amounts of water do anything?
The toilet is flushing slow, even holding handle down doesn't get a complete empty. I plunged and snaked and found no blockage at the toilet.
The line is 20 feet. Picture a straight line in back yard, right to left. At the right is some kind of pipe at ground level outside and no visible way to open it. 12 feet left is the tub, 3 feet is the kitchen bath sinks back to back, and 3 feet more is the toilet. Between the sinks and toilet, under the kitchen sink is the clean out valve hectongal (something to turn with a pipe wrench).
I ran kitchen water but it might miss the problem if it is between the toilet and the sink. The only thing running slow is the toilet. The tub and sink are working fine. I think I have isolated the problem.
The solution is opening the clean out valve with a pipe wrench under the sink which is before the sink drain but after the toilet (note to self: buy pipe wrench) and snake. It is isolated so I may not need to go to the expense to renting a machine.
Any other suggestions? Should I post pictures
Your sewer mains are probably 4" in diameter. There's no way to snake those through the toilet - the whole thing has to come up off the floor and you go in through the flange on the floor.
Are you sure you're using the right tool? A 4" sewer auger would completely destroy a toilet.
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