Clogged Kitchen drain

[teejk]

I've never tried it but "Drainbo" gets mentioned a lot on Gary Sullivan's radio show. It's a bacterial enzyme thing that supposedly eats grease/gels.

 

[Red Horse]

Well guys thanks for all the suggestions. After screwing around with the snake, feeding it through the trap under the sink, then feeding it back through a cleanout that was just before it dropped into a 3" soil line I gave up and decided to cut out a section where I felt the most resistance. Just like my first episode years ago this thing was packed. You would never know I had the snake through this either. Totally clogged. And in looking into both exposed ends I decided to cut it all out from where it dropped into basement to where it dropped into soil line.

I had intended on just hosing these out but after almost 30 years, they were less then straight so I jumped in pick up and got 3 new 10' lengths-best 20 bucks I've spent in a long time. I also put another clean out at mid point. this time I made sure I had a nice continuous pitch. That by the way was the root cause of my problem. I had a high point in the line. So you can bet this new one has a nice gradual drop-and Moss Road not quite 7" drop but close-I've always been told between 1/8 and 1/4 inch pitch. Danger in too much is you can tend to leave solids behind-like in a sewer line but a kitchen line without a disposal should have less of an issue-but our lesson here is for sure we will be paper toweling the plates that go in the dishwasher going forward.

thanks again for the opinions.

 

[goeduck]

Good to hear! And good call on adding a cleanout. All my plumbing jobs have cleanouts at very turn. You cannot have enough cleanouts. Long sweep Tees as elbows with the cleanout on the straight. As a side note, I have never plumbed in anything less than 2” for a drain.

 

[CADplans]

Danger in too much is you can tend to leave solids behind-like in a sewer line

but a kitchen line without a disposal should have less of an issue-

but our lesson here is for sure we will be paper toweling the plates that go in the dishwasher going forward.

thanks again for the opinions.

We moved into our septic tank equipped home early in 1982,, by summer of 1982, the wife demanded a garbage disposal.

We raised our two daughters in this home, and my wife LOVES to cook,, trust me, no dish has EVER been paper toweled before going in the dishwasher,,,

Well, we have had no clogs, and the septic has only been pumped once, the guy asked why I called, there was nothing to speak of in the tank,,,

Do not fear the dish washer,, or garbage disposal,,,:thumbsup:

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^ I took the disposers out of all the units... septic and not septic because tenants will put anything down the drain...

I pump after each tenant… sometimes clear as can be and other times a real garbage pit...

 

[jaxs]

^^^ I took the disposers out of all the units... septic and not septic because tenants will put anything down the drain...

I pump after each tenant… sometimes clear as can be and other times a real garbage pit...

My experience exactly^^^^

 

[goeduck]

^^^ Right. Some people wonder why bottle caps do not go through the disposals. Makes you wonder what else they put through them. Being a responsible homeowner using a disposal for organics vs a renter using it for trash is a big difference.

Having said that you do not want anything organic that floats to go into the septic tank, it can make it over the baffle and into the drain field clogging it. Also, no coffee grounds, they do not decompose very well. No bleach or drain cleaners.

 

[EddieWalker]

A power snake will have different cutters at the end that will expand to the width of the pipe as it goes through the pipe. The cutters clean off everything that is attached to the inside of the pipes. Worse is where the laundry drains in my experience. I've been 100% successful by hiring a pro to come out and run their snake through the pipes to clean out reoccurring issues. Usually it's $100 and they are there an hour or so.

 

[jaxs]

A power snake will have different cutters at the end that will expand to the width of the pipe as it goes through the pipe. The cutters clean off everything that is attached to the inside of the pipes. Worse is where the laundry drains in my experience. I've been 100% successful by hiring a pro to come out and run their snake through the pipes to clean out reoccurring issues. Usually it's $100 and they are there an hour or so.

You are right about using a "scraper" tip doing a longer lasting job. I commend you for knowing your limits and/or being man enough to admit it. The little 1/4" snakes on powered machines can slap you, give a nasty bruise or bloody nose,5/8" and larger can break arms and ribs unless operator know's what he's doing. Don't ask how I know. :fight:

 

[grsthegreat]

Ive used green gobbler brand main line clog remover with good success, and its septic safe. My kit sink line clogged 3 times, and running a power snake opens it fir a month or 2. It still gurgled. After using the chemical, it has been flowing great, fast, and no gurgling anymore.... its been 2 months so far.