clogged drain?

Drain O (powder) has worked the past 4 times or so, but the prob keeps coming back.

It is now clogged again and drain 0 is not working.


Anyone got any good tips/tricks before I call a plumber?

thanks all

What drain?
How old is the house?
What materials are the drains made of (plastic/copper/cast iron)?
What do you put down the drain (be honest)?

For openers you should not be using Draino. That stuff is too hard on the piping. Better to address the issue correctly and unclog it. Where is the clog? Is it in a bathroom or kitchen sink?

Duane

Quoted from MarkToo

What drain?
How old is the house?
What materials are the drains made of (plastic/copper/cast iron)?
What do you put down the drain (be honest)?

Basement slop sink drain, shares plumbing with kitchen sink I think

house is old as dirt, 50-60's

PCV pipe running to Metal (copper) pipe that goes into the floor.

The wife and I put as little as possible down the drain, honestly. all grease goes in a can.

The unknown factor is that this particular plumbing has a pipe coming in from the house beside mine (row house) so I think I share this particular plumbing with my neighbour.

Got an air compressor? Fit a plunger head to a line, sealed nice and tight, place tightly over drain and have at it full blast.

Worked well for the paint systems I used to work with, which used your standard plumbing fittings, save for clasp-style fittings on our hoses/pipes. Got a clog, I'd blast em out with air.

My advice would be to call a plumber. A good one will examine your drain using a camera. This will show what the problem is, if it is roots from a tree, a GI-Joe stuck in the pipe, or a big ole hunk of crap that got wedged in after Grampa had too much to eat last Christmas.

Quoted from ken_cinder

Got an air compressor? Fit a plunger head to a line, sealed nice and tight, place tightly over drain and have at it full blast.

Worked well for the paint systems I used to work with, which used your standard plumbing fittings, save for clasp-style fittings on our hoses/pipes. Got a clog, I'd blast em out with air.

Residential drains don't use fittings... they are just glued together. In fact, I suspect he has clay drain pipes on his house if from the 50's. Compressed air could cause more damage. Clay pipes are sensitive.

Well, if it's under the slab and it's that old, it's going to be cast iron.  It's likely a little shaled and rusty and is catching most anything going down.  The fact that it's shared with the neighbours could be a problem.  If you have nothing else backing up in the basement (floor drain - if you have one), then it's likely just the drain serving that sink.  Before doing anything, I would speak with the neighbours and check if they are experiencing any issues.  I they are, it's possible they are the problem...

Chemicals rarely free a clogged drain, but are sometimes useful for killing tree roots, dissolving grease, and breaking up crystalised urine but rarely more than that.

Since you have had issues before, the best method would be to mechanically clear the drain with a snake.  You might do ok with a little hand cranked snake, but for a few dollars, you can rent a power snake from United Rentals, and perhaps even Home Depot.  This is still the most positive way to do the job on a basin/sink drain.

Quoted from MarkToo

the best method would be to mechanically clear the drain with a snake.  You might do ok with a little hand cranked snake, but for a few dollars, you can rent a power snake from United Rentals, and perhaps even Home Depot.  This is still the most positive way to do the job on a basin/sink drain.

He said it best.
I once had to remove all the cast iron pipe in a family member's  basement as their flooring contractor washed the grout down the laundry sink.. Real stupid move.

Quoted from Sparky

My advice would be to call a plumber. A good one will examine your drain using a camera. This will show what the problem is, if it is roots from a tree, a GI-Joe stuck in the pipe, or a big ole hunk of crap that got wedged in after Grampa had too much to eat last Christmas.

Going to call the land lord tomorrow, they manage just over 500 houses in our Military community, so I am sure they have a "snake"

Just have to hold out 2 more months...then a brand new house


The floor drain does work well, kitchen drain works well too, but backs up in the basement at the "slop sink" (right below it).



Thanks for the advice everyone, this really sucks

sounds like you're getting tree roots growing in the drain.. I had that problem once.  Man, what a pain.. they had to break up the basement floor right to the source and lay new pipe.  What a mess..  

Quoted from MarkToo

Since you have had issues before, the best method would be to mechanically clear the drain with a snake.  You might do ok with a little hand cranked snake, but for a few dollars, you can rent a power snake from United Rentals, and perhaps even Home Depot.  This is still the most positive way to do the job on a basin/sink drain.

Home Depot does rent the power snake with a cutter attachment but I'd let an expert do it if the plumbing is old.
BTW condoms can also wreak havoc with your plumbing... If your habit is to flush chances are sooner or later you'll have issues. Don't ask me how I know this

Quoted Text

lay new pipe  

And when you're done, go fix the drain. Well at least it will relieve the tension.  

Snake always does it for us.  One thing about plumbing is it usually all connects together to one sewage drain, so you can have one problem (like hair and skin grease) move down and clog a different section.

Compressed air was the silliest "advice" I've ever heard.

+1 on a good company scoping the drain.

since it isn't your place, kinda hard to push the landlord to do it, but the find the exact problem 99.99% of the time.

I had mine scoped when i had a leak in my stack, turns out there are some potential tree root issues, but nothing crazy for the time being... but knowing is more than half the battle. probably next year i will have to dig up the front yard and replace the pipe.

Quoted from Pharoah007

Going to call the land lord tomorrow, they manage just over 500 houses in our Military community, so I am sure they have a "snake"

Just have to hold out 2 more months...then a brand new house


The floor drain does work well, kitchen drain works well too, but backs up in the basement at the "slop sink" (right below it).



Thanks for the advice everyone, this really sucks

Are you in what they call "PMQ" if so don't touch anything and let your landlord deal with it.  There is a slew of people paid to maintain these so let them do it.  They have the gear etc.

take care