Can't get Kitchen Sink Unclogged. What's next?


  #1  
Old 03-13-08, 09:32 PM
C
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 34
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Can't get Kitchen Sink Unclogged. What's next?

I've had this problem 6 months ago, and i fixed it with the ridgid powerspin snake I purchased. It's just not working this time.

Double kitchen sink. One side has disposal.
Was working fine. Didn't grind up anything significant in the disposal.
Water does not drain from either sink.
I take off the trap, use my powerspin until it runs out of the snake. I'm not an expert, but it seems like it at least "penetrates" everyting. I can't feel a blockage and the end of the snake comes back pretty clean.
I am hand cranking the powerspin. and I did put draino in it for a little while

I put the trap back on, and pour about 2-3 gallons of water in the sink until both sides of the sink start filling up.

BTW, all the toilets, showers, everything else, works perfectly. And the previous owner left draino, so I suspect this has been going on for a while.

Any ideas on how to proceed?
 
  #2  
Old 03-13-08, 10:50 PM
K
Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 1,126
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Try a plunger? Impact pressure at the point of blockage is only limited by your upper body strength.

Maybe you have a combination of stuck partial obstruction (e.g. half a chopstick) + debris that hangs up on that.

A snake is really good for extracting objects. You can bend the corkscrew tip out to form a hook - this may grab something it otherwise bypasses.

Maybe there's a useful cleanout buried someplace you haven't noticed.
 
  #3  
Old 03-14-08, 05:25 AM
C
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 34
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
A litle more info. There was about 2 inches of water in both sinks last night. Overnight it drained. Of course putting 2 gals of water or so in the sink filled it back up.

So I guess I don't have a complete clog......but it still not useable like that.
 
  #4  
Old 03-14-08, 05:29 AM
C
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 34
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Kobuchi
Try a plunger? Impact pressure at the point of blockage is only limited by your upper body strength.

Maybe you have a combination of stuck partial obstruction (e.g. half a chopstick) + debris that hangs up on that.

A snake is really good for extracting objects. You can bend the corkscrew tip out to form a hook - this may grab something it otherwise bypasses.

Maybe there's a useful cleanout buried someplace you haven't noticed.
I did try a plunger first. I think i need to find a better way to block off the disposal though. It seemed like even when I used the black sink stopper that pressure kept coming through.

I did not try to bend the head of the snake out (which I guess you mean unwind it a bit?). I can try that. I guess it is possible that the clog is beyond 25' (which I think is the length of the powerspin snake).

I put more draino in the sink and was going to let it sit until I got home from work.

I didn't think to try to locate any other cleanouts. There is one outside (4" pipe), which I think is for the main sewer line. I guess I should go down in the basement and see if I can snake up to the kitchen sink????
 

Last edited by cruiserparts; 03-14-08 at 05:50 AM.
  #5  
Old 03-14-08, 06:54 AM
M
Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: USA
Posts: 929
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I had this exact problem in a house I used to own that was around 50 years old. I think I even had the same brand of snake as you. My sink drain ran across the basement wall for several feet, and at one point two sections were joined with a Fernco coupling. Over the years, kitchen grease and "stuff" had formed a gooey clog there. The head of the snake pushed right through the clog but would not remove most of it. I had to take off the Fernco and literally dig the clog out.
 
  #6  
Old 03-14-08, 10:47 AM
K
Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 1,126
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by cruiserparts
I did try a plunger first. I think i need to find a better way to block off the disposal though.
Need a helper, ideally with a second plunger (yo heave ho), but any kind of round lid or dish should work.
Originally Posted by cruiserparts
I guess it is possible that the clog is beyond 25' (which I think is the length of the powerspin snake).
The drain likely reaches a branch within 6'. From there it could go one way or the other, and you deciding which way is really quite the art... though possible. These snakes can also loop back without much resistance, or even coil uselessly inside a 4" pipe. The snake might detour freely up a re-vent near the sink. If only drains knew how deeply we feel about them.
Originally Posted by cruiserparts
I put more draino in the sink and was going to let it sit until I got home from work.
As I suggested before, the drain may contain some object that collects gunk. More common in toilets. Maybe the previous owners installed the disposal, after learning things put down the drain cause blockage. In any case, Draino won't solve the cause of drainage problems.
Originally Posted by cruiserparts
I guess I should go down in the basement and see if I can snake up to the kitchen sink????
That's just asking for it. But if all else fails. Keep a rag handy to block around the snake when sewage rushes down.
 
  #7  
Old 03-14-08, 08:17 PM
C
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 34
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the tips. I chased the kitchen outflow, visually, as much as I could through the house. it was basically down and a straight shot to the main line.

I measured everything out and realized the snake was short of the main line, by about 8 feet.

So i went and bought a 1/2 inch by 50' snake and sent it down. I confirmed that it was in fact in the main line (by sound of scratching).

When I pulled it out there was a bit of grease and junk on the snake. Filled it with water and it was still clogged.

This made no sense there was no other explanation other than the block did not clear.

So I did it again. There were several spots where I felt an obstruction (after 25'), confirmed the snake had in fact hit the main line. When I pulled it out there was a bunch of grease and a large clump or something inside the snake.

The cleared it and now everything is working great. Thanks for the advice can encouragement.
 
  #8  
Old 03-14-08, 11:28 PM
K
Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 1,126
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Right on.

And now we learned something about the problem. That is: drain temperature isn't hot enough to melt the fats going down. So maybe they liquefy at the sink, but after they've traveled 20' or so the fats are re-congealing, on the cool pipe walls. The thread helped sharpen my view about that.

Occasional flushing with full-hot water should melt that gunk before it clogs again.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: