Oppo's can with plumbing help?

"itschrome" (itschrome) 01/08/2018 at 07:46 • Filed to: plumbing, help!

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ugh, ok so I got a plumbing situation. My tub and bathroom sink are not draining. there’s no clogs in the traps,I checked them last night and the tub does drain over time. and I think I identified where the clog maybe.

it’s gotta be here. the big pipe on the right is the toilet, which flushes with gusto. So I can only assume the pipe I’m touching is the point of concern. the tub comes in from the top and the sink to the left.

Now the sink darin’s, in the sense that it back up’s into the tub. so I don’t believe there’s any issues between the sink and this pipe and the fact that water freely backs up into the tub makes me believe there’s no clogs in the tub traps either... But how do I fix this clog?

Can I just snake from the drain in the sink?

under the sink

the pipe under the sink in the basement

sink from left and top from center.

there’s under 10 feet here, do you think I could get a snake to that pipe? If not what should I do?

pip bip - choose Corrour > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:01

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have you tried drain cleaners?

itschrome > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/08/2018 at 08:04

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i did. I tried liquid plumber down bother drains. but i kind of wonder if i used enough to get all the way down. i used about a gallon.

Azrek > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:16

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Snake could work.

I’d start out using your plunger when the water level is full. The pressure from the plunger may loosen or push out the blockage. 

cbell04 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:17

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Harbor freight sell exactly what you need. Really long retractable snake 25ft for $15. It will destroy all it comes in contact with. The sink might do the trick but worst case you may have to remove the cover to the drain in the tub and snake that way too.

cbell04 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:24

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Also double plunger may work. Basically get the water all backed up and get someone to plunge from the kitchen sink at the same time you are plunging from the tub. Since the share a pipe you kinda need to do both or at least stop up the sink really well so the pressure you are creating doesn’t just escape up the sink.

OPPOsaurus WRX > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:26

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i had a sink clogged after the trap. The stuff was tough, it required a screwdriver to scrape it out.

PartyPooper2012 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:31

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Under your sink, undo the trap - the nut closes to you. Stick a snake down the pipe - make sure it’s long enough to reach the area in question... and give it a few whirls.

Keep in mind, the trap is full of liquid so have a bucket under it to catch it.

PartyPooper2012 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:34

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Also, have you tried to remove the cover of the drain in the tub, make a small hook on the end of a wire hanger and swirl it around in the tub? Usually there is a bunch of hair from hairy people in the house that get stuck there. Hook will catch it and roll it on like spaghetti. Yank it out and you’re done... maybe

PartyPooper2012 > PartyPooper2012 01/08/2018 at 08:36

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Actually, you might need to undo both nuts as that metal pipe is lower than the nut so you won’t be able to swing it to get a snake in there. Undo both nuts and remove the trap (full of liquid). Then snake the pipe in the hole and give it a few whirls once you think you have reached the proper depth.

itschrome > PartyPooper2012 01/08/2018 at 08:42

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when it’s timr to put back together do I use anything on the pipes? like tape or something to help it close tight?

PartyPooper2012 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:42

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************** BE CAREFUL ************

If you already poured drain cleaner, don’t splash yourself with it. I don’t know what you used, but some stuff are acid that is supposed to eat clogs. Might burn

itschrome > Azrek 01/08/2018 at 08:43

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pluger doesn’t help. it just pushes stuff up into the sink and or tub.

itschrome > cbell04 01/08/2018 at 08:44

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but will it last for the whole job? haha this is what i was gonna go buy. they aren’t open yet tho.

itschrome > cbell04 01/08/2018 at 08:44

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tried, either the misses wasn’t holding it tight or it just didn’t work :/

itschrome > PartyPooper2012 01/08/2018 at 08:45

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is there any trick to putting the pipes back?

itschrome > PartyPooper2012 01/08/2018 at 08:46

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I have run tons of water through it and am certain its long gone.

itschrome > PartyPooper2012 01/08/2018 at 08:47

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yeah tried that. water flows freely from tub to sink and vice versa so I assume there aren’t any blockages between them

PartyPooper2012 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:47

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no. you don’t need tape or glue. PVC is pretty tight on its own. If you glue it, you will never be able to access the trap again. You don’t need tape either.

Just tighten it to good enough. If everything lines up fine, hand tightening first should be good enough, but you can use a basin wrench or a channel lock to tighten it a bit more. Remember it’s not a wheel on a semi. You don’t need a lot of torque. There is no pressure in that system. It just leaks down with gravity in the pipe.

XJDano > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:47

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I get the stuff that comes in a bottle inside a ziplock bag. It will do the trick.

It may not be for metal pipes though.

itschrome > PartyPooper2012 01/08/2018 at 08:48

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ok cool, thanks! off to buy a snake and a wrench I go!

PartyPooper2012 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:48

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:) why do you have water flowing from sink to tub and vise versa? They should be independent and flow down to sewer.

itschrome > PartyPooper2012 01/08/2018 at 08:49

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haha well yeah it should be doing that! that’s why i believe the clog is where it is.

Agrajag > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:50

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A 1/4" auger should be able to make the bends in that pipe. And I would try that first because stuff can gather or easily get stuck in the bottom of the trap. It might just be that.

PartyPooper2012 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:50

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Lefty loosey. Don’t muscle it too much. It’s plastic and doesn’t need much torque. Good luck.

Agrajag > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:51

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Those plastic nuts just use a plastic washer. Probably a good idea to get new ones, but no tape or anything else is used.

cbell04 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:52

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I lived a little north so e ridge is where I mostly went but I think the Henrietta one seems a little bigger. I owned 2 of them and only bought the second one because a neighbor friend needed to borrow it and I told him to keep it because i would always know it had touched strangers poop:)

PartyPooper2012 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 08:56

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If.... one day you are feeling adventurous, the pipe from the tub... you cut it somewhere down the middle... then add a Y connection and make something like this image

If you turn the image left 90 degrees, and pretend there is no 90 degree elbow but instead it goes into your metal pipe, it will make sense.

Note the open end where the snake goes in is threaded so you can put a cap it in and never have to open your traps again under the sink.

The tricky part would be spreading the existing plumbing far enough apart to fit the Y connection in.

Typically they are female ends on both ends so you need to get the tub pipe into it and it looks like you have all the pipes connected to the house pretty solidly.

Again, this is probably more involved than you want to get into right now. See how the snake goes and go from there.

Discerning > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 09:01

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Why don’t you disconnect the sink where it connects to that y pipe and shine a light in there?

*this is meant to be a joke. Please don’t do that unless you can first turn off the water and drain everything from the toilet.

450X_FTW > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 09:02

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I’ve used this on my bathroom sink, was clogging up from trimming my beard (did not tell the wife she was right that it would happen). It works AMAZING. Like dumping a gallon of Nair hair removal down the drain.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Instant-Power-67-6-oz-Hair-and-Grease-Drain-Opener-1970/100169339

itschrome > cbell04 01/08/2018 at 09:13

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I’m going to ridge now. It’s close to me.

Funktheduck > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 09:16

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Might be able to save some money if you rent one.

crowmolly > PartyPooper2012 01/08/2018 at 10:10

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This. Tighten enough to not leak- do NOT overtighten. Some of those nuts have the threads cut after they are formed which makes them weaker. You can crack them if you are not careful. There should be little plastic washers to help seal everything.

PartyPooper2012 > itschrome 01/08/2018 at 13:48

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I don’t know if you fixed it, really broke it, or side tracked to another project...

Hope you don’t have a bucket in your hands bailing out basement of unpleasantries

itschrome > PartyPooper2012 01/09/2018 at 05:45

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Fixed it!

PartyPooper2012 > itschrome 01/09/2018 at 06:42

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Good stuff!