Clearing Drains with Air Pressure

[Pavel314]

I can see that could be useful where there are too many elbows in a small diameter pipe for a regular snake. Anyone have experience using pressure like this?

d first. And also what's a reasonable high pressure limit?

ere are 4 elbows before it gets to the main house drain. I was able to cle ar out part of the piping with a small diameter snake, but not all. Eventu ally got it cleared out alternating boiling water, then flushing with hot w ater, then drano, water flush, snake, etc. Also make a tight connection fr om the hot water faucet to the 1-1/2 standpipe and ran it until it flowed n ormally. All this worked, but it took a lot of time.

I bought a CO2 powered drain unclogger; it uses the same CO2 cartridges tha t I use in my seltzer bottle. Works pretty well but I have to cover the ven t hole in the sink with a wet rag.

[DerbyDad03]

It's not my tree but I wouldn't remove it even if it was. It's not always about the money or even the inconvenience.

The cheapest solution is not always the best.

[Mayayana]

I have seen these gadgets that use air pressure for drain pipe blockages. I can see that could be useful where there are too many elbows in a small diameter pipe for a regular snake. Anyone have experience using pressure like this?

Why not use a plunger? Same idea. Less money. I find a plunger often works for minor clogs. If it doesn't then a snake is probably going to be needed.

[Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney]

blockages. I can see that could be useful where there are too many elbows in a small diameter pipe for a regular snake. Anyone have experience using pressure like this?

plugged first. And also what's a reasonable high pressure limit?

where there are 4 elbows before it gets to the main house drain. I was able to clear out part of the piping with a small diameter snake, but not all. Eventually got it cleared out alternating boiling water, then flushing with hot water, then drano, water flush, snake, etc. Also make a tight connection from the hot water faucet to the 1-1/2 standpipe and ran it until it flowed normally. All this worked, but it took a lot of time.

try the snake as a last resort because it's a real pain to get it to make the turns and harder to get it back out. Last time I boiled 4 large pots of water with 25% ZEP cleaner/degreaser and poured them all down one after the other. Then flush with hot water and then use Drano a couple of times.

- Which variety of Drano are you using: Acid or Alkali? Lint is probably the problem in your drain; I suggest using the alkali version if you haven't already.

Alkali. Thanks.

[bob haller]

ahh to clear tree roots just mix rock salt or softener salt in very hot water, and that kills tree roots fast, but doesnt harm the trees

[bob haller]

if you use hot water the steam containing salt kills all the roots.

our main sewer line has roots in all clay pipe joints but one......

this has been my solution for near 20 years

[gfretwell]

If you can identify the spot within a few feet, fixing it should not be that expensive. A few hours of a machine, a pipe cutter, a couple of no hub fittings and some pipe.

[gfretwell]

When I lived in an apartment, I used a CO2 fire extinguisher to clear a chronically clogged toilet (wooden Q tips flushed) It worked great and we never had another clog. Unfortunately I had blown the pipe open down in the storage area below and we pretty much flooded the place before they found it.

[Vic Smith]

I had a nice big red maple cut down - right over my sewer line - before it gave me problems. It wasn't cheap. It was the best solution. Also saved me from climbing on the roof yearly to clean the gutters. I've still got plenty of nice trees. It was a thoughtless act to plant a tree right over the sewer line 50 ago years ago, but they probably didn't know better.

[Vic Smith]

Up north where there's a frost line it not that easy. My sewer lines in a suburb of Chicago are about 7-8' deep. And you don't need a pipe cutter. Clay pipe. Just a hammer. And a trencher capable of going 8' deep. And plenty of men and shovels. Probably cost 10-15 grand to replace the pipe from my house to the city sewer line, about 60' feet.

[TomR]

Oops. Funny story.

[Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney]

installed the

hot water, and that kills tree roots fast, but doesnt harm the trees

I remember years ago hearing that copper sulfate was good for killing roots, but never tried it. No root problems here yet.

[TomR]

You are probably right about that. I just looked at the problem bathroom sink again this morning. It has a 1 1/4 inch metal P trap that goes into the wall, then a 90 down to below the floor, then a 90 and across the ceiling (above the ceiling, below the floor -- I have the ceiling below opened up) to the main 4-inch cast iron sewer line where the toilet ties in. It's about a 7 foot horizontal run of a narrow lead pipe drain line with almost no pirch to it.

The "clog" or partial obstruction always appears to be near the end of the narrow lead pipe run down close to, or at, the place where it meets the toilet sewer line. It is a chronic slow draining problem that recurs a month or two after snaking out the line. Other evidence that the clog is near the end of the line is that it takes awhile of running water into the sink before the water starts to back up into the sink. So, I think the whole pipe etc. has to fill up before it backs up into the sink -- meaning the clog is not right at or near the sink.

After looking at it this morning, I think that I may decide to cut the horizontal part of the P trap and put a Fernco there. Then, to snake out the line, I will disconnect the Fernco and put the drain snake in and it will only have to make two 90 degree turns to get all the way to the end of the line.

While looking at what is there now, and thinking about the water pressure device that others mentioned, I started thinking that I could invent a fitting that attaches to a hose on one end and the other end of the fitting would screw tightly onto the P trap up underneath where the curved part of the P attaches to the horizontal piece. It would be a specifically designed fitting -- maybe in two sizes -- one for 1 1/4 drain lines and one for 1 1/2 drain lines.

But, then my alarm clock went off and I woke up, and the dream was over.

[TomR]

The first time that I saw or heard of this device was once when a washing machine drain line was backing up. The washing maching discharge hose went directly into a 1 1/2 inch vertical PVC line and not into a laundry sink. We decided to just call a plumber and he put that device inside the PVC pipe and badda bing, badda boom, the clog was cleared. It was a no-brainer that I easily could have done myself had I even known about that device and bought one at Home Depot or Lowes.

The convenient thing is that in laundry areas, there are already hose connections there. That makes me think that it might make sense to install a garden hose valve fitting in a hot water supply line in other locations such as under a bathrrom or vanity sink, or in an access panel behind a tub, etc.

[DerbyDad03]

In addition to the frost line issue, in my case the gas service and water main are all in that same "line". They all enter/leave the house in the same corner. The gas service is on top, then the water main, then the sewer pipe. Any digging done with a machine could be hazardous, especially if done by a rookie (me). The gas service is less than 3 years old, but the water main may be original. It's just not something I would feel comfortable disturbing.

We might as well toss in the landscaping that would need to be done, etc.

$5K to have someone line the pipe for me, and give me a warranty, seems like the better option in this case. For now, I'll stick with the Root-X since it's really easy to apply via the clean-out and has worked for the past few years.

[gfretwell]

If you do any cutting into that pipe at all, I would suggest increasing the pitch. Shorten the vertical at the sink end. You could replace the 90 with a sanitary tee and create a cleanout but with better pitch, you might never need it.

[Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney]

I have connected a 50-ft hose to the hot water connection at the washer and run it wherever needed.

[Don Y]

They work well in kitchen sinks (if you ensure the "other sink" -- in case you have two side-by-side -- is covered) and bathroom sinks (the vent is usually easy to cover with your palm/fingers.

Bathtubs are a bit more of a chore as the vent is usually part of the drain "closing" mechanism: remove it, clear any hair that's caught in it while you're at it then cover it with your palm or one of those rubbery aids used to open tight jar lids.

Other great tools to have are "Lonn Water Savers": a couple of different varieties.

Not sure it is worth the effort. A (new, never laid in the outside dirt)

50 ft hose can usually tackle most "in home" uses while connecting to an outdoor bibb.

[Don Y]

I've felled all of the original trees on the property (last one we had to hire-out as a mistake would have done serious damage to any of the four homes it could fall on!) -- largely to eliminate the maintenance issues and "risks" (we have lots of microbursts in the neighborhood that easily topple 70 ft, 36" dia pines!).

I'd hoped that the last tree (pine) would result in eliminating the pine needles that accumulate on the (flat) roof. But, apparently, those that are still accumulating there are fom neighbor's trees behind us. I guess the wind carries them pretty far when they fall off from those heights!

Neighbors grumbled when I took the deciduous trees down: "Oh, the leaves were so pretty in the Fall...!" (WTF? They were just YELLOW! Not the vibrant reds and oranges from Maples, etc.) "Yeah, well I never saw any of you guys helping to rake them and *bag* them..."

We've settled on citrus (because they produce edible fruit) and "Mimosa" trees -- smallish (perhaps 15 ft tall/wide) with delightful flowers that the hummingbirds adore:

No fear that they'll be toppled onto the house/car. And, I can take one down in a matter of hours -- leaving no sign of it's presence! (contrast with days/weeks/months for some of the larger trees that I felled)

We had one in our front yard like that. When I dug up the root system (removing ~20 yards of soil), I found a 6" diameter root following the clay sewer pipe *under* the house! Tricky removing it without damaging the pipe.

The mimosa planted in its place will never develop as complex/intense/deep of a root system.

[Muggles]

I always recycle all the fallen leaves into mulch.

I love Mimosa trees. Had one come up volunteer in my back yard this last summer and I was able to pot it up and I'm training it as a bonsai, now. It's still growing in doors under grow lights and doing well. I hope to train it and even get it to bloom in it's miniature state, but not sure how long it'll take to get it to do that from seed.