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Author:
cogzoid (CA)
Hello,
I'm new to the forum. I'm a novice, but enthusiastic DIY homeowner. I've remodeled the bathroom, put in solid hardwood throughout the house, etc. I'm no pro, but I've figured most things out. Well, this latest problem has me stumped... Our kitchen drain has decided to drain extremely slowly, if at all. The bathroom plumbing is draining very well, so this seems to be isolated to the kitchen.
The drain from the kitchen sink goes into the wall as a 2" line, where it tees into the vent, it then runs down under the house, and a 2" clean-out tees into it. This line makes a straight (slightly angled down) shot towards the large drain near the bathroom that everything else tees into. There is one 2" line from an old laundry hook-up that is no longer used, that tees into the otherwise straight shot from the kitchen to the main drain.
Here is what I've tried to do:
Snake (using a small 25' hand held snake) from the p-trap under the kitchen.
Snake from the clean-out using the small snake.
Rent a larger snake from home depot and snake out the clean-out.
Everytime I put things back together the slow drain happened again. I was convinced that my vent was clogged. Unfortunately I couldn't snake through the vent on the roof because there are a couple of 90 degree elbows where the vent changes directions from vertical up the wall to following the roof angle. I filled the vent up with water, in an effort of pushing the clog out with 12' of water pressure. No dice. It did, however slowly drain like the sink did. (I am not sure why the water didn't back up into the kitchen sink, however) Now I was really convinced the vent was clogged. I pulled off some panels on the outside of my house to get access to the vent line. I cut a hole in the line, hoping that would free up the clog. No dice. I was able to run a snake down this hole in the vent line, and it looks as clear as can be.
I tried re-snaking the clean out, and I'm certain that I'm making it all the way to large free flowing main drain.
When I uncap the cleanout, the kitchen sink drains very quickly out into my driveway, so the clog is downstream. But, it's a straight shot to the main drain that works fine.
I crawled under the house to make sure there wasn't any funny business. There might be a slight dip in the straight shot, but it's very slight. I know these can cause problems, but the drain has been working fine for us for almost 2 years, so I'm still confused.
What else can I try? Do I need to use a larger snake more aggressively? Should I cap off the excess line to the old laundry hook-up? Any suggestions welcomed. I'm about to pull my hair out.
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Author:
cogzoid (CA)
Well, in writing out the post I decided to try a few more things... I first wanted to confirm that the vent wasn't clogged. I had heard some dripping in the wall when I filled up the vent with water. I had already cut a hole in the vent so I wanted to confirm there was good flow between that hole and up to the roof. I hauled the hose up there, and filled it up. My wife on the ground immediately began screaming out. Much more water was dripping down through the wall and around the pipe than what was coming through the pipe. It seems the clog and the leak in the vent is worse than I thought. I'm going to have to replace the vent pipe. Ugh.
However, I also decided to snake down through the hole in the vent towards the clog. I had done this before once, but I thought I'd give it another shot (cheaper than a plumber!). I got it 25' through to the good drain, but still no luck. I did lots of aggressive spinning on the snake as I pulled it out. I kept pulling it out and spinning, and when I only had a few more feet of snake left I started to hear a loud gurgling. Ah ha! The clog had cleared and my kitchen sink was back to normal!
I still need to replace the leaking vent line in the roof. Every time it rains it must be dripping behind my wall. It's not going to be easy to run a new line, as I don't have a lot of access in the attic. I might need to go through the wall on the outside. But at least it's a known problem.
Thanks for letting ME vent. Ha!
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Author:
WC (VA)
From a DIY 'ser
Glad you solved your problem.
NEXT TIME TRY -----
Professional plumbers on this forum don't seem to recommend using a rubber bladder and water hose to clear blockage. I have had good luck with them in conjunction with a snake.
It is true they work better if you can actually push and pull them far into a drain and use them like a snake -- while turning the water pressure on and off. Of course you must have some idea of how and where other drains and vents may connect with the pipe you are trying to clear, they may need to be closed off. But -- flowing water pressure applied to a drain can sometimes work wonders to clear up blockage. -- The correct size bladder and water hose MUST be in good condition AND securely connected. Use of bladder and flowing water may be needed for 10-20 minutes or so to archive lasting results. Never attempt to much force, it would not be good to get one hung up in the drain.
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