Clogged Kitchen Drain

[RoseRed]

Before I call a plumber, I thought I'd get some opinions and additional ideas here.

I do not have a dishwasher or a garbage disposal and I hand wash my dishes. I NEVER put grease or food down the drains (double sinks).

I've done the Draino/hot water mix several times. But it doesn't last for long.

Going to try the baking soda/vinegar mix later today when I go purchase some.

And, go!

 

[PrchJrkr]

Here I thought I was the only one to still hand wash dishes. No advise except be careful working around the Draino until you're sure it's all flushed out of the system and good luck!

 

[vraiblonde]

When my drain was clogged but good at the house Pete came over and snaked it. We refer to that as "the time my house puked on Pete". Found all sorts of things in there, including a large piece of denim cloth.

 

[limblips]

How old is the house? The older galvanized pipes will rust inside and slowly close up.

 

[RoseRed]

When my drain was clogged but good at the house Pete came over and snaked it. We refer to that as "the time my house puked on Pete". Found all sorts of things in there, including a large piece of denim cloth.

I don't want to call him out of the blue and ask him for help.

Here I thought I was the only one to still hand wash dishes. No advise except be careful working around the Draino until you're sure it's all flushed out of the system and good luck!

I usually do. I make sure it goes all down the drain and then follow up with a boiled kettle of water and let it sit overnight. Maybe a quick handwash, but nothing more.

 

[RoseRed]

How old is the house? The older galvanized pipes will rust inside and slowly close up.

1948.

My neighbor recently had a pipe issue and had to have their yard dug up. I added a rider to my homeowner insurance to cover that sort of thing.

 

[vraiblonde]

1948.

Yeah, I'd call a plumber if I were you. Pipes that old, you don't want to be fooling around with it. My first suggestion was going to be you can rent the snake thingie and DIY pretty easy, but now I'd worry about the structure of the pipes.

 

[Sneakers]

If you're good about the sink drain, the plug may be further down the line, like maybe the bathroom. A snake might clear it. I used to have a small snake, but can't seem to put my hands on it right now...

 

[RoseRed]

Yeah, I'd call a plumber if I were you. Pipes that old, you don't want to be fooling around with it. My first suggestion was going to be you can rent the snake thingie and DIY pretty easy, but now I'd worry about the structure of the pipes.

If you're good about the sink drain, the plug may be further down the line, like maybe the bathroom. A snake might clear it. I used to have a small snake, but can't seem to put my hands on it right now...

Under the sink are PVC pipes. No issue with the bathroom or laundry. Or septic, I had that pumped last month. No issues with it.

 

[vraiblonde]

Under the sink are PVC pipes. No issue with the bathroom or laundry. Or septic, I had that pumped last month. No issues with it.

You probably already thought about this but I'll throw it out there anyway: did you take the pipe under the sink apart and check for goober in that section? Maybe it's not that far down and you can unclog it easily.

Also, with my big ass clog it was way down but before the pipes all came together at the main pipe. Nothing was having a problem except the kitchen sink.

But you can rent one of those rooter things and snake it yourself. It's easy (now that Pete showed me how and got barfed on in the process.....)

 

[RoseRed]

You probably already thought about this but I'll throw it out there anyway: did you take the pipe under the sink apart and check for goober in that section? Maybe it's not that far down and you can unclog it easily.

Also, with my big ass clog it was way down but before the pipes all came together at the main pipe. Nothing was having a problem except the kitchen sink.

But you can rent one of those rooter things and snake it yourself. It's easy (now that Pete showed me how and got barfed on in the process.....)

Ewww. And then have to touch yucky things?

Honestly, I do not think I have the capability to do that. I AM capable of royally screwing it up though!

 

[limblips]

Another thought is the vent for the kitchen sink. And the fact that the pipes under the sink are PVC really doesn't mean anything. Is there a crawl space or basement? In my 1955 house the PVC stops at the main drain line in the crawl space, all galvanized from there.

 

[RoseRed]

Another thought is the vent for the kitchen sink. And the fact that the pipes under the sink are PVC really doesn't mean anything. Is there a crawl space or basement? In my 1955 house the PVC stops at the main drain line in the crawl space, all galvanized from there.

Crawl space which I will not go into.

 

[vraiblonde]

Crawl space which I will not go into.

I wouldn't go in mine, either, especially after watching American Horror Story.

 

[vraiblonde]

Ewww. And then have to touch yucky things?

Honestly, I do not think I have the capability to do that. I AM capable of royally screwing it up though!

You do have the capability, you just don't know it yet. It's pretty simple.

But then there's the touching of yucky things, which I totally get.

 

[RoseRed]

You do have the capability, you just don't know it yet. It's pretty simple.

But then there's the touching of yucky things, which I totally get.

That may be so, but I'm not taking my chances.

 

[UglyBear]

If you are on septic, I would limit the draino application — that’s some nasty stuff, too much and it can kill off the helpful bacteria.

The easiest and most effective is just a drain snake — the normal home owner ones are maybe $30 at your local hardware store? It will take care of hair balls, sponges, etc.

If you are afraid to touch yucky things, get rubber gloves, and have a trash bag next to you when you are snaking.

 

[DaSDGuy]

If you get a plumber to snake it don't pay more than the going rate of $200. Anything more is a rip-off.

 

[RoseRed]

How do I get past this?

 

[RoseRed]