Kitchen sink clog


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Old 01-29-11, 07:54 PM
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Kitchen sink clog

Hi everyone-

To set the stage... This week we had some wicked cold weather, that being said, I'm pretty sure it's not frozen. ALL the other drains are working. Including the one in the laundry which is on the septic side of the kitchen.

I went to do dishes Thursday night and all of a sudden both sinks (double) filled 3/4 full of water. Plunging it didn't do it, first bottle of drano didn't do it. Took the elbows out from under the sink poured drano max gel into it Friday afternoon. Have taken a snake and over the last couple days I have gotten it to go about 15 inches further, still have the clog now. My fiance is currently on the roof (at 11pm) to try and see if he can find the roof vents and get them cleared.

First question is, what else can/should I do? Calling a plumber is financially going to hurt a lot. Is there a step I'm missing?

Second question/problem is, while trying to get water to go down and removing pipes, I removed an elbow that I probably shouldn't have and the sink now leaks, pipes directly under the sink are PVC. Any suggestions on how to get this to stop? Would silicon caulking solve the problem? ie put a line of plumbing caulk around the bottom of the pipe so it would create a seal?
 
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Old 01-30-11, 04:21 AM
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Welcome to the forums!! First, lock up all your chemicals and silicone. If the piping wasn't leaking before, adding a foreign substance such as silicone won't help. How did the vent cleaning work? You have double sinks. Do you have a disposal? Can you take a picture under your sink and post it as follows: http://forum.doityourself.com/electr...your-post.html that way we can see what you see and can offer better advice as to how to get it back in order. Are you on a septic system or municipal sewer?
 
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Old 01-30-11, 07:52 AM
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Thank you for your advice!!! clearing the vent stack fixed the problem!!! Now I know where to start the next time!
 
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Old 01-30-11, 09:36 AM
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Roger that. Did you get the pipes put back together so they don't leak?
 
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Old 01-30-11, 02:34 PM
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Red face Betrice

To unclog a kitchen sink.. try Liquid Fire (can be bought at hardware stores). Be extremely careful! It will eat up metal pipes and leave a ring on your counter. My husband sets it inside a plastic bag whe he finishes with it. Doesn't harm plastic.. go figure. Take the elbow joint apart under the sink and use a plastic funnel to pour it straight into the pipe going outside. Put the pipe back together and after about 10 minutes run hot water through it.

A preventive measure I have found is as follows; Once you get the sinks un-clogged try putting 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of white vinegar down each sink. Put your stopper in; let set about 20 minutes then pour about 1 gallon of boiling water in each side. Use a chicken fork to take the stoppers out. Do this about once a week.
 
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Old 01-31-11, 03:54 AM
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Betrice, welcome to the forums! The only thing using harsh chemicals will do, aside from destroying anything metal, is kill all the enzymes in your septic system. Our advice is to stay away from harsh chemicals and use mechanical methods to move clogs, as the OP did in this instance. thanks for your input, however.
 
 

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