Kitchen Sink Clog Surprise

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artworksmetal

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Dec 5, 2011
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Location
Timberville, VA
Well, I finally have an issue I think is worth posting here. My house is 10 years old; I've been here 5. Never had a plumbing issue until this week. The kitchen sink wouldn't drain. So I pulled the trap - clean. Damn!
Dumped a bottle of Drano down there. It drained, but failed the full sink test. Damn!

Went and bought a snake. Pushed all 25 ft down and it came out clean. Oh No!
The drain pipe from the kitchen runs the full 45 ft width of my house, most of it behind drywall in my garage. The whole thing stays in the rafters, so the slope is not too impressive. The part I can see looks almost pure horizontal:
Plumb01.jpg
Then I remembered the house shook a few month ago when this happened,
making the basement floor unlevel:
Plumb02.jpg
Sure enough, the pipe was sagging at that point. Little did I suspect it was from lbs of sludge. I cut into it there and found:
Plumb03.jpg
I pondered it for a while and decided the only thing to do was replace all that pipe. I cut it off where it disappeared into the wall, and it was still clogged. Stuck my wet-vac in there about a foot and sucked more out. Sensing it was clear, I pulled it out a little too eagerly, and got a chest full of pipe-puke.
Plumb04.jpg

Here's the final repair, with lot's of slope and a cleanout. I figure it had been collecting gunk for years, and the house settling just hastened the final blockage. There was about 20 feet of blocked pipe.
Plumb05.jpg
Plumb07.jpg
Plumb08.jpg
Plumb09.jpg

I never expected it a little clogged drain would turn into this.
 
Oooooh yuck!!

Every so often, fill a bigger pot with water and heat it on the stove. When it starts to get hot, fill a sink bowl with hot water. Maybe both sink bowls. Dump one bowl, then the other, then the pot of hot water. That will help keep the grease flushed out of the line.

Third picture from the bottom, can you explain what is going on with the piping in the top of the pic? Something doesn't look right.
 
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That hot water trick sounds like a good idea.
In that picture, I added a wye and put a cleanout plug on the straight-away. It's hidden in the pic by the Freon line to the heat pump.
I should also mention that there was an early symptom - the dishwasher wasn't working up to snuff. There was grit on things that needed rinsing and the bottom had residue after running a load. I'd been avoiding it, but would probably have torn that apart looking for a problem.
It didn't dawn on me until I ran a load after the repair and the dishes and dishwasher tub are sparky clean. My wife is out of town, but she'll be very happy with this consequence when she gets back. (I'm the cook and she does the cleanup).
 
It appears to me that you have installed a wye with the proper direction of flow reversed. If I am correct, this is certain to cause you problems in the future. First, solids and grease WILL build up at that point and cause frequent backups. Second, a snake sent down the line from the kitchen sink will not make the turn down the drain line, and deadhead into the cleanout.
 
It appears to me that you have installed a wye with the proper direction of flow reversed. If I am correct, this is certain to cause you problems in the future. First, solids and grease WILL build up at that point and cause frequent backups. Second, a snake sent down the line from the kitchen sink will not make the turn down the drain line, and deadhead into the cleanout.

Good eyes phish. I wouldn't like to be the one to pull that clean out plug and snake that line backwards with a sink full of water.
 
Yeah agreed that wye is definitely on wrong and if it backs up its gonna be a mess to clean up. Good eye phish
 
Just some additional info for drain maintenance. Clearing food debris from a plate or pots into the garbage can first could save your plumbing and garbage disposal from possible future clogs. Even the smooth walls of plastic pipe can build up with grease and starchy food stuff. Coffee grounds, egg shells, potato skins and rice (cooked and uncooked) are also big no-nos for your disposal and pipes.
 
I see your point about the wye (using it assbackwards). Wondering what I should have done different? I thought I was being clever putting the cleanout there.
Here's the offending connection, shot from directly below.
IMAG0074.jpg

As I look at that photo, I can picture junk accumulating in that no-mans land at the plug.

Thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated.
 
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Basically, it needs to be reversed from the direction it is now.

Orienting with your latest picture, the branch of the wye is to the right, and the outlet of the wye is to the bottom of the picture. So, the part of the wye that is to the right should be attached to the pipe coming in from the bottom of the picture. And then the part of the wye that is to the bottom should be attached to the pipe coming in from the right. That would have the cleanout pointing to the left.

The cleanout isn't a bad idea, but personally I always try to clean secondary fixtures from the fixture drain pipe. Once I get it open, then maybe I will open up an auxiliary cleanout to do a better cleaning job, but my first choice is the drain right at the fixture.
 
I agree with phish, nobody wants to open a c.o. When your drain is packed with water gunk and sludge. A c.o is fine there but I'd put one right after your t wye where the drain goes vertical (fixture drain) better yet put it above the t wye of there's room on your vent. That way it'll make less of a mess and still clean the drain.
 
OK, I see what your saying. I will make the switch. Then there won't be any low pressure dead spots in the direction of flow. The downside is the cleanout will be 90 degrees from the direction I'll probably need it.
What do you think of these rubber flexible couplings that screw tight with band clamps.
611918018225.jpg

Are they just a bad idea? I just see myself needing to get in there again at least once before I die.
 
I agree with phish, nobody wants to open a c.o. When your drain is packed with water gunk and sludge. A c.o is fine there but I'd put one right after your t wye where the drain goes vertical (fixture drain) better yet put it above the t wye of there's room on your vent. That way it'll make less of a mess and still clean the drain.

I'm not quite following these options. I've done a fair amount of plumbing, but I really am an amateur. Been lucky up 'til now I guess.

In reading up, I see that there's tees, wyes, combo wyes, and cleanout tees. Who knew? ( well, you all did...).

Upstream of that wall everything is in the rafters behind fire rated drywall and packed with insulation. I don't want to get into that unless it's an emergency.
 
Ok fair enough, depending on what's exposed. Since its not don't worry about it. I know some homes have a hole drilled through the cabinet floor and floor and you can see your t wye and then above the tee is your vent running vertical for a bit. But that's not your case so no worries what phish said to do is perfect
 
Thanks for that post! It's always great to see photos (which help so much). I'm sure this posting will be of great use. Good work!

Retroloco-LJ
 

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