SIGforum
Clogged drain-need advice please
December 18, 2017, 08:51 PM
techguyClogged drain-need advice please
We have a double vanity sink in the master bedroom. They were both a little slow to drain. Today I was running water on my side and my wife’s side started filling up with water, now both sides are holding water and neither one will drain. What’s the best way to remedy the situation. Thank you.
December 18, 2017, 08:55 PM
LargefarvaWhen this happened to my kitchen sink at my old house, I grabbed two plungers and went to town. If you have a second person available to help it’ll make it much easier. Be warned though...it likely will get the whole area wet but it should help clear the clog. Try to make sure you go in unison.
December 18, 2017, 08:58 PM
MitchbSCDraino Urgent Clear.
Otherwise, subtle application of high explosives.
They don't think it be like it is, but it do. December 18, 2017, 09:01 PM
jimmy123xIf both sinks drain into a common trap, take the trap apart and take out all of the junk.
December 18, 2017, 09:06 PM
dsmackI'm assuming both sinks drain into a common J trap under the sink, or perhaps a separate trap for each sink before entering the wall plumbing...
What you have it sounds like, is the typical bathroom type clog composed of primarily hair wrapped around the movable sink stopper assy, along with toothpast detritus/hair/bobby pins, etc in the trap(s).
Put on your oldest clothes, get under the sink and find and remove the J trap(s), first placing a bucket under the low point before disconnecting. Remove the obvious clog, then clean thoroughly with a cleaner such as 409 or Simple Green until the trap is clean and free flowing.
As they like to say in written instructions: "Assemble in reverse order and test for leaks."
If you happen to have plastic drain pipes under there, do NOT go crazy with the over-tightening of the flimsy gasket/nut... Hand Tighten ONLY! You'll thank me later!

Don
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Living the Dream... One Day at a Time.
December 18, 2017, 09:12 PM
FredwardIf you use the plungers you will need 4 hands, yo gotta cover the overflow drains also. First, take pictures if everything under the sink, it’s likely pvc. Gently remove it ALL. Got to a plumbing supply store and get replacement parts for about 15 bucks. Reinstall using pics for reference. Put a catch pan under it all (I use a cheap litter box) and test it. If it doesn’t leak, leave the pan there a week anyway.
IMHO, once you pull an under sink drain component, you’re better off replacing all the pieces. Same goes for toilets, you take tank guts out, get the kit and replace all the parts.
December 18, 2017, 09:13 PM
chellim1Zip It!
Zip-It Bath and Sink Hair Snare
Helps clear clogged and slow-running tub, shower and sink drains
Clear drains without chemicals
Durable polymer construction
$2.48 /each
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible."
-- Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth."
-rduckwor December 18, 2017, 09:13 PM
flesheatingvirusAnother vote for removing the J-trap. You will likely find some nasty, stinky stuff in there, but it will fix the problem very quickly.
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-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --
December 18, 2017, 09:55 PM
bigdealAs others have noted, get under the sink and pull it all apart. You'll likely find your problem, and years of yuk. Clean it all up, put it back together, and you should hopefully be good to go.
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Guns are awesome because they shoot solid lead freedom. Every man should have several guns. And several dogs, because a man with a cat is a woman. Kurt Schlichter
December 18, 2017, 11:38 PM
David LeePut a bucket or old dish pan under the trap before you take it apart.
December 19, 2017, 12:30 AM
TheFrontRangequote:
Originally posted by chellim1:
Zip It!
Zip-It Bath and Sink Hair Snare
Helps clear clogged and slow-running tub, shower and sink drains
Clear drains without chemicals
Durable polymer construction
$2.48 /each
Another vote for Zip-it. Was advised about this product a few months back on this very subforum and have used these successfully since.
"The sea was angry that day, my friends - like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli." - George Costanza
December 19, 2017, 01:27 AM
FenrisSink likely clogged with organic material. Bleach is the enemy of all things organic. Pour a gallon of bleach in both sinks and let it work over-night.
Warning: Does not work on Lego.
God Bless and Protect our Beloved President, Donald John Trump. December 19, 2017, 04:30 AM
45 CalJust take the p trap off and clean it.
Don't want to clean that nasty thing buy a new one for a couple buck at home depot.
December 19, 2017, 04:41 AM
Balzé Halzéquote:
Originally posted by MitchbSC:
Draino Urgent Clear.
Otherwise, subtle application of high explosives.
I never use chemicals. Cause they never work, and then you're still stuck manually cleaning the drain, only now you also have to deal with that crap getting on your skin.
~Alan
Acta Non Verba
NRA Life Member (Patron)
God, Family, Guns, Country
Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan
December 19, 2017, 05:17 AM
smlsigJust had this happen to me last month and as stated above took the Ptrap out and cleaned it.
In my case the junk was also cought on the drain stopped valve which can also be easily taken apart and cleaned.
Took all of 10 minutes...
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Eddie
Our Founding Fathers were men who understood that the right thing is not necessarily the written thing. -kkina
December 19, 2017, 05:58 AM
sourdough44I would try the ‘Zip-It’ unclogger 1st, if it will reach. If that doesn’t work, go on to the next method.
Home Depot usually has the zip-It.
December 19, 2017, 06:42 AM
architectIf your clog is further down the drain, somewhere in the plumbing past the P trap, you have fewer options, either a snake, or something that has worked for me. I have a second-floor sink that every few years develops a hair clog about 12' down the drainpipe. I think it is where it joins the main sewer with a Y fitting that is just a little tighter than the pipe itself. For many years I (and my dad before me) used a plumber's snake to clear this condition, a dirty job if ever there was one.
Then I hit on the idea of using air pressure. I found one of these little bladders that swells to seal themselves on the inside of a pipe before delivering pressure past the seal. Remove the trap, insert the bladder into the drain stub out, pressure up, climb on the roof (or call up to your helper) and seal the associated vent with a rag, voila! The air pressure easily pushes the clog past the tight spot in the drain. Having been the man on the roof, it is easy to feel the pressure rise, and then suddenly drop when the clog is gone.
Resist the temptation to pressurize from the roof vent. The result will be a big mess inside the house.
It doesn't seem to require a lot of pressure, perhaps 20 PSI, but it does need a considerable volume of air. You need a fairly substantial compressor, I don't think a hand pump would work. The bladder I use was marketed to go onto the end of a garden hose, an arrangement I felt was too fraught with risk to attempt indoors. I made up a quick disconnect to hose bib adapter (including a shutoff valve) to affix it to the air hose. Obviously, if there is any chance that there are leaks or weak spots in the drain pipe, this procedure will remove all uncertainty. Also, if the vent serves multiple drains, this technique will not work as you will never get a pressure rise in the pipe (and potentially a mess in other drains served by the vent).
Anyway, it has worked for me to clear perhaps a half-dozen blockages over two decades.
December 19, 2017, 06:54 AM
wreckdiverIf water flows between the sinks, don't bother pulling the traps. Plug the drain and overflow of one sink with wet rags (tightly). Plug the overflow on the second sink, and remove the stopper.
Now your ready to plunge, go easy on the push, but vigorous on the pull. You ask why? Because your trying to loosen up the stoppage, a vigorous push just may plug it even tighter!
If vented properly, the plunger won't do much good. If that's the case, call a plumber, or buy an electric snake.
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"Once abolish the God, and the Government becomes the God." --- G.K. Chesterton
December 19, 2017, 07:04 AM
BigWhupdefinitely Zip It first!!!!
December 19, 2017, 08:18 AM
Sig2340Your best options:
burn the place down
move
rent and move
sell and move
stop using the sinks
Nice is overrated
"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018