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- over 420,000 Posts - PlumbingForum.com -
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Author:
jamiesonger (GA)
I have some sort of a clog I think, but thought I would ask someone before I proceeded. I noticed a bubbling sound coming from the toilet, tried flushing it, and it filled like it was clogged. I plunged it and the water finally released, but then water started bubbling up through the drain in the bath tub and the toilet bowl did not refill. Later, I went back in the bathroom and there was a lot of food and debris from where I had washed dishes earlier, in the bottom of he tub. Is this a clog in the main drain, and if so, is this something I can fix myself? Thanks in advance for any help.
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Author:
dlh (TX)
yes it is most likely a clog in the main line.
can you fix yourself? maybe, it depends on your skill and experience with dangerous sewer cleaning machines, made even more dangerous if you are going to rent the $1500-$3000+ beasts that have not been treated properly by novices, and if you can find the correct access point for where the clog is located
my best advice would be to call a professional as anything you can do will result in a temporary fix at best.the more skilled you are the longer it may take between cleanings. the time between them has a lot to do with the people using the drains though and if there is a physical problem with the line
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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"
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Author:
hj
Is this a clog in the main drain? What else could it be? But since you do not have the proper snake, nor the knowledge of how to use one safely if you did rent one, a plumber is your best option.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
hj
quote; made even more dangerous if you are going to rent the $1500-$3000+ beasts that have not been treated properly by novices,
I was once in a situation where I needed an extension to my snake. I went to the local rental yard which used the same brand equipment. I mounted their drum on my machine, coupled the snakes together and then tried to finish clearing the line. Their snake had been so abused that there was not a single spot over 5' long, that was not severely kinked. It was a chore just to pull the snake out, much less try to feed it into the cleanout.
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Author:
jamiesonger (GA)
Thank you for the replies. I figured as much. Believe me, I'm no plumber, but money is tight until the end of the month and I was just wondering if there was a cheaper solution. How big of a deal is it to wait like 3 weeks? Is that totally stupid?
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Author:
Wheelchair
Much depends on what is clogging your line. But you will know exactly when its too late. Nothing will go down the drains and the tub and sink are filled with raw sewerage and the smell is overwhelming.
Chemicals and plunging will have NO AFFECT on opening the line once blocked and may create a dangerous condition to your lifestyle.
It then becomes an issue of how long you can hold your breath. Let us know what happened.
Best Wishes
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Author:
hj
It depends on whether you can go that long without using your toilet, tub, or sinks. However, I did have a customer who waited 6 months because he had a different toilet he could use. By that time the roots had migrated through his entire system, and I could only remove a few of them. I told him he would have to use acid in the rest of the system to get rid of them.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
sum (FL)
I would suggest calling a plumber and have your line cleared.
If you go an rent one of those monster machines, I think by the time you factor in the rental cost, plus pulling your hair out trying to use it, possibly scratching the tile or flooring while you haul it into your house, and tries to control the spinning cable while it splashes "blackwater" all over your bathroom, and all the time you spent cleaning up, it would be more economical to call a plumber.
Someone posted a thread recently about a guy being strangled to death by his snake.
You mentioned that food waste from the kitchen is coming up your tub, this means the blockage is downstream of the tub, toilet and your kitchen...are they all nearby? or far apart? By looking at your kitchen sink, your bathroom etc...you might have some general idea AT LEAST how far down the clog is.
The only "cheap" remedy I can think of that is safe is to GAMBLE that MAY BE the blockage is less than 6' from your toilet drain, you can get a 6' long auger, pull the toilet up, and stick that auger all the way down to the bottom of that elbow and hope that within 6' is the blockage and the auger is able to loosen whatever is there. But if it's root it will not do you any good, if it's grease, hair and rubber ducks may be. Cost would be whatever a 6' auger cost (which you can reuse in the future) and a new set of wax ring to remount the toilet.
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Author:
jamiesonger (GA)
The kitchen and the bathroom are probably 20 ft from each other. The house is only 4 years old, so I'm hoping that roots aren't the problem. I'm thinking that it is probably hair and gunk, 3 long haired women in one house can really clog a bathtub. I'm going to call a plumber and hope for the best. Thanks again for all of the help.
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Author:
sum (FL)
kitchen and bath 20' apart and you have food waste coming up in the tub? WOW...your kitchen is upstream of the bath?
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Author:
hj
IF the stoppage were close enough for a closet auger to clear it, AND it were actually something it could remove, then he would have to be one of the luckiest people on earth.
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Author:
hj
"Hair and gunk" SELDOM clog a main sewer, so you may have a more serious problem than normal.
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