Plumbing question

I.O.N.Doyle

I.O.N.Doyle

New member
Well got a plumbing problem that I feel like I am missing something on that I could use a hand on. Friday night the wife ran a bunch of potato peelings down the garbage disposal and the kitchen sink backed up. I have ran a 25' auger down it countless times but no luck. I have ran some gel drain cleaner down it twice and it frees it up a little bit for a short time but does not free it up. Last night I used a "water thingy" (sorry didn't want to get too technical), its made by Water-Tite and called a water flush, a black rubber unit that hooks up to a garden hose and seals inside the pipe. The "water thingy" runs water through but the pipe for approx half an hour but
still backs up on it's own. I could see water run through past the vent from the roof with attachment. Also, I isolated the basin without the garbage disposal so I am only running from one side with a straight shot to the outlet. The trap is not clogged. Like I say, I feel like I am missing something and any help is appreciated. If nothing else I would like to know why water flows out the drain with the "water thingy" but not on its own.
 
Potato Peels tend to really stick and get like glue to the sides of a sewer pipe....They used to use potato flour as a glue substitute when I was in grade school...

Sounds like you need a longer 'drain snake' with a bigger head to get to the sides...It sounds like it doesn't take water long to fill up the smaller pipe (which is probably pretty clear)...and your clog is likely at the edge of the main sewer pipe..

Hopefully you have an available reverse cleanout available on the outside of the house that you can attack the main pipe from the reverse direction of the water flow.
 
I'm not a plumber but I do all my own home repairs so I will let you in a a few things I learned.

It could be you have a massive grease and/or waste buildup. Usually the drain will get slow and you will notice these over time. The auger will go through it and the water will run for a while but shortly afterwards the clog (usually a foot or so long will collapse back onto itself. You have to take the pipes apart to clean them out.

Could be you septic tank is nearing full or that there is enought stuff stuck to the pipes the path is just narrowing.

The tater peels may or may not have anthing to do with it it could be they were just the last thing down the tube.

I would go under the house of in the basement and have someone release a sink full of water and track how fast it is moving and where it slow then take the pipe apart below that point and try to find your problem
 
The 25 footer sounds as though its a diy special. Works for the small jobs ok but they are limited to small jobs. Had a similar problem a couple of weeks ago. Not from potato peels,learned many years ago, that along with onion skins they belong in the trash.Yes you may get by with it for a while but eventually they will gum up thee pipes.Like tarry said grease is always a culprit and you just can't prevent it. Not that you pour it down there,there just is always grease going down, even in dishwater. Over time it builds up. I solved the problem by going to the local tool rental yard and renting a professional snake, same as a plumber would use.They have a 2 hp motor or so and self expanding claws to cover the whole inside of the pipe.Try to figure out how far it is from your sink to the main sewer line.No sense cleaning your neighbors mess too. As you feed it in you will feel a slight resistance when you get to the blockage.This is something that most homes experience every ten years or so_Oh absolutely get a good pair of rubber gloves,as when you reverse and retrieve the snake it will be nasty.Hope that helps.
 
you may be passing through the blockage and it closes back up as the cable comes out. Try a cup of Dawn dish soap and really hot water, let it set for few minutes then run the cable through again. If you can get water running through while the cable is in it will help.
Once you have done this if the blockage is still there, fill both sides of the sink with hot water and plunge both sides at the same time while the disposal is running this creates a ton of pressure. Check to be sure all fittings under the sink are tight before plunging!
If this does not work call a plumber he should have a longer cable, make sure before you let him come out.

feel free to PM me with more questions.
I'll be back in a few hours.
 
Taking the pipe apart would be my absolute last resort. I completely understand the attempt on your part to rectify the situation on your own. I would have done the same thing. However, it seems that you have reached a point where it is an excercise in futility for you to continue. Spend the $50.00 or so that a drain cleaning professional will charge you and be done with it. Their work is guaranteed if they are a company worth their salt such as Roto Rooter or the like. Am am quite certain you probably already have more invested in time and money than it would have cost to just have Roto Rooter do their thing. That would be my advise for what its worth.
 
Make sure the sink tape you are using is long enough to reach the main line which would be the bigger line that the kitchen ties into.Ronnie
 
do you have a holding tank or hook to municipal ?
here lets try this ,,
are you over basement or on slab ?? , what ever you have, look for the main drain where it exits the house there should be a clean out there just before it exits .. remove the cap run the water ,is the water passing by that point?? if so , Keep the water running and go out side to the curb vent with a flash light, look down it with the water running , look to is if the water passing into the curb trap? if its not flowing good go back inside to the cap and snake it out, if it flowing fine then trace the pipe back to the ( y) that leads to the problem fixture see if there ant any other cat to access the drain ..if not check you vents going up make shore they are clear.
sound like trouble in your Main drain

you lost me a little when you went on the roof,
 
The only thing that is worse than potato peels is shrimp shells.

I think a disposal is one of the worst things ever invented. Anything that needs the disposal should go in the trash.

Jack
 
Sorry, not much help, but I'm with Jack. We are in the country on septic & when we built this house I had to wean my wife off any idea of a disposal. Any food particles go in the garbage or garden compost pile.
 
Sorry for the delay but thanks for the help guys. I actually just dug in and got it done the night of this post but then got sick the next day and really have not been on-line since. Ended up going with a combination of things, a larger snake, flushing down Dawn dishsoap with near boiling water several times and I also hooked up the water flush tool to the hot water heater to get more warm water in to break up the grease. After getting some of the smag out with the snake it worked like a champ and is now cleared. Had to have a little talk to the wife about grease and certain things going down the tubes though.

Quote:
However, it seems that you have reached a point where it is an excercise in futility for you to continue.


It would only have been an exercise in futility but the clog made it personal, can't give up at that point.
 


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