Kitchen sink drains extremely slowly and backs up (double sink)

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TimeForAction

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London, Ontario
Hello all. I have a kitchen sink which I thought was clogged in the black tubing roller coaster (or whatever you call it) directly under the sink, so took that apart. It was apparently not the problem, although there was a lining of 'gunk' in there which was removed. Upon replacing the tubing and rerunning the water, it continued to back up into my 'double sink'. I took off the entire tubing under the sink so that the only thing remaining as of this moment is one length of horizontal plastic tubing which I could not seem to untwist (about 18 inches) which connects up to some metal piping (horizontal but there appears to be a curve or a clog just beyond my eyesight as trying to shove a piece of garden hose into it (I am somewhat inventive) resulted in it hitting a barrier when about two or three feet of hose was fed through. Maybe it is just a curve in the piping, and certainly 'hosing' is not very flexible. I hoped if it was a clog, it would knock it out if it could be reached. I found it interesting that in taking the hosing out again, it was not covered in gunk???

I bought cleaner (Zep industrial brand for grease as that seems the likely culprit) which did not do the trick although with pouring hot water after the fact, it drained through VERY VERY slowly a sinkful of water would likely take a night to drain out. I do know from reading and common sense to be careful since the cleaner may still be in the pipes, as well as to be careful of 'mixing different ones together'.

I bought a 15 ft (1/4 inch) snake by Plumbshop purchased at Home Depot, but I think it may be defective or broken. I can't get it to extend and the instructions seem quite straight forward and the packaging looked like it may have been opened previous to my purchasing it yesterday. So either I am a doorknob in terms of my fix-it know how, :eek: or it truly was returned and re-shelved.

I heard that it might be necessary to get a long snake and actually climb on the roof to run it downwards? I would if need be. However, who out there knows their plumbing mechanics enough to know if that was likely a bend in the piping, a clog, etc of which I spoke above? And of course, feedback would be appreciated.
 
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Hand snakes are not very effective in clearing kitchen drains. although some may say they have had success using one. An electric powered snake is your best bet. You can try renting one but if you're not familiar with how to use it you can possibly get hurt.
Just call a local drain service and have it cleaned. Watch him then the next time just maybe you can try and tackle it your self.
 
It is a pretty good bet that there is a fitting in the wall that the hose was not able to turn through, probably a 90 degree fitting.

At this point, your best course of action is probably to either trade the snake that you purchased in for an operational one, or figure out how to make this one work. I would try to snake the drain from under the sink before I went up on the roof.

Of course, as Mr. David said, the easiest and safest way is to hire a good service plumber to take care of it.
 
Well here is a bizarre update!

I returned the snake I had and bought one which operated with a drill attachment. After giving up at the kitchen end, I went to the basement and worked on what I thought was the end which came down to the basement. But I swear I was trying to 'unclog' the wrong piping even though there was a heavy gunkish, almost clay like (grey and pasty) residue on the snake after extracting. However, since no water came out even though I thought it was cleared through, I reverted to my under the kitchen attempts. After 'thinking' I may have got the snake through, I reinstalled all the apparatus and poured water though, and this time it drained. So I went racing to the basement (knowing it might be spilling onto the floor as I left it open, only to hear water running, but down a different pipe further over. Talk about dumb luck!

So my thought is, that horizontal pipe I was trying to clean was likely abandoned years ago because it stopped draining. I don't have any other explanation, as any water running in the house (and I turned everything on!) does not drain from that pipe I was so diligently snaking. : )

I am just glad I did get it cleaned out at the sink end, and I hope it is as simple as this. My imagination was working overtime thinking I would have to pull floors up, etc. etc.

Now my only issue seems to be that I might need to buy a new part for under the sink, as one of the connections is leaking where it joins to the metal piping under the sink. A small price to pay though. : (

I wish to thank both of you who responded to my posting; it is very much appreciated. After spending hours myself on a site where my own expertise was of value, I thought I may as well be the requester this time. Thanks again. Aren't computers, at times, wonderful?

C.
 
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I am glad to hear that you managed to "clear the matter up". Thanks for following up so that we know that the advise we give is of some value.
 
The advise was absolutely of value. I also 'consulted' with a local person as to the use of the drill operated snake to ensure it did not wrap around me like a cobra, or some other such nightmare. I can see how they could 'bounce back' if not handling correctly. I found the biggest challenge was getting used to speed settings.

Thank you again. It is nice to have water which runs down the drain instead of building up in the sink.
 
Hi
Just installed new garbage disposal and kitchen sink won't drain without being turned on. This causes dishwasher to overflow kitchen sink. I don't feel like standing at the sink anymore and turning on the disposal every time we need to wash dishes.
 

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