Technical > Home Improvement > Clogged kitchen drain, drain snake not permanently fixing...

reply to Dennis

Re: Clogged kitchen drain, drain snake not permanently fixing...

reply to Dennis
While I accept that your above drawing is a "rough sketch" and a vent pipe is not shown, do you know if that area of plumbing has a proper vent pipe running out the roof ? Also, in your first post you mention pvc. Is it pvc all the way to the end of the 23' run or is there any cast iron involved ?

I had a 1959 home once and due to a similar situation, ended up replacing cast iron under house with 2" pvc. The cast iron was fully blocked in every 5' section I would remove on a 40' run.

reply to Dennis
I went down stairs and could lift the pipe slightly, you could tell by how heavy the pipe was if it was plugged, normally the pipe should not weigh much if it empty.

reply to Dennis
I would try a bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid rather than any "laundry" detergent. It works amazingly well at cutting grease. We use it in the laundry to spot treat grease stains on clothing. I'd use the whole bottle, prededed by some hot water, and then use just enough hot water to get it into the drain pipe, and let it set for awhile. It also works to degrease oven pans with baked on residue from my wife's lasagna. It has to be cheaper than hiring the chore out to some plumber. It may take a few treatments, but it still has to be the cheapest option mentioned so far. And quite honestly, it'd be cheaper to replace the whole horizontal run than to "route" it out. It's worth a shot!!!
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Keep your eye on the ball, your shoulder to the wheel, your nose to the grindstone, and your ear to the ground. Now, try to work in that position!!!

^this.
Had the exact same problem that Dennis did at an apartment we rented in FL. The drain in the kitchen would slow and then back up, maintenance would come out and snake it, work for a bit then nothing. What I did was start filling the largest pots I could find with water and get it to boiling. Added Dawn to it, poured it down the drain and let it sit for 10 mins. I then kept a steady supply of boiling water pouring down it an all of the sudden it drained like new.
According to the maintenance guy the previous tenents were from Mexico and cooked with lard, lots of beef etc. Over time this must have formed a blockage so it would stop up. Snake it, poke a hole, and then back up again. Finally the soap and steady stream of boiling water fully cleared it. Never had an issue again.
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"So, Lone Starr, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb."

Have you been touched by his noodly appendage? »www.venganza.org

reply to Dennis
I had the same issue a year ago in our house. I have a similar pipe run as you.

I cut into the pipe close to the sink in the basement. There was enough wiggle room in the pipe to slip a painters pole with a rag duct taped to the end and move the mess down the line to an area with more access.

In that area I made two cuts to make an 8 foot section that I could remove. I then put one end in a trash can and from the other end run the painters pole and rag down pushing all the gunk in to the trash.

I just had to buy 3 Fernco flexible couplers and it is back in business and easy to get to next time. I also added some extra strapping support in the larger section. That is also easily removed for maintenance.

reply to ptrowski

reply to ptrowski

Ummm, I think it would have been sufficient to only copy-n-paste the max service temp line...

Perhaps... I thought it was pretty dang informative myself.

I didn't think it was informative enough:

1.) What is the definition of "Maximum Service Temperature" ?
Is this the maximum (continuous) environmental temperature under which the PVC pipe will still perform as required or is this indeed the maximum temperature for hot water running through the pipe (even briefly) ?

2.) Where did those specs come from and are they equally applicable for every kind of PVC pipe ? A quick google for maximum PVC pipe temperature gave results of 140F, 160F and 212F which indicates to me that it varies. It also appears that some manufacturers qualify the maximum service temperature with a specific pressure (allowing for higher temperatures at lower pressure).

Since some areas permit PVC pipe for hot water distribution in homes (which can exceed 140F) the posted limitation seems questionable as universally applicable. It also doesn't make sense to me that draining boiling water in the kitchen sink (ever cooked pasta ?) would risk permanent damage to the drain.

However, as long as there is some PVC sewer pipe with such a low temperature limit then the warning would be well justified (at least for extended exposure to very hot water).

I'm glad I have cast iron sewers and therefore don't need to worry about using boiling water to clear slow drains.
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I would guess that maximum service temperature refers to the temperature outside the pipe

reply to Dennis
Try a lye based drain opener like Insta-Flo. That stuff is amazing.

reply to Dennis
Metamucil cleans my pipes.