Weird piping under laundry tub

Hi. I'm new here and have a question. My laundry tub has been clogging. I've finally got it to drain ever so slowly, but am having trouble running a snake down due to the weird setup under the tub/sink. All of this plumbing is original to the house, built in 1955. Please see pics. I am wondering what the piece that connects the 2 pipes is called. I would expect to see a normal trap there, but instead there is this thing.

If it has a name, maybe I can google how to clear a clog out of it, since there is no way a snake will maneuver through this maze!

just talked to hubby, who lives out of state, he said there is an access port, a square nut, I think it is on the bottom of one of the pipes. Hopefully the pipe that goes to the drain, and not the one coming down from the laundry tub. My concern is that the clog is in that small, skinny 'trap' curved part.

In your last picture, you can see the square head nut on the bottom of the trap. Good luck getting that plug out, if it hasn't been removed on a regular basis.

I would unclog that trap with a sawzall.

I would cut that pipe coming out of the wall in half. install a transition band

and replumb the sink drain from the basket strainer back. {if basket strainer looks bad,replace it also]

yikes, well thank you. I will see what I can do today before calling in for help, lol.

I do have one more question. Our bathtub makes a loud gurgle sound when you flush the toilet, does this mean we need to snake the vent from the roof?

gcpommom said:

yikes, well thank you. I will see what I can do today before calling in for help, lol.

I do have one more question. Our bathtub makes a loud gurgle sound when you flush the toilet, does this mean we need to snake the vent from the roof?

Click to expand...

do not be intimidated,
really not that hard,

gurgling tub means it is starving for air.

check the overflow, take the face plate off, pull the mechanism out
clean the hair soap yucky yuk yuk off of it
return..that might stop it

thank you, good to know I knew to clean out the tub drain, but never knew I should also clean out the overflow too. Doesn't most hair go down the actual drain when showering?

When snaking a tub drain, it's generally easier to go through the overflow because most times it goes directly to the inlet of the trap. Going through the actual waste drain can be harder because of the shoe, then having to turn down into the trap. Also, some soap scum can bubble up into the overflow and cause a smell over time, so it will bust that up too.

see the thing that hangs down to stop the water , when taking a bath? # 9 and #10

it gets all yucked up with hair, soap, big ole slimy ball of yucky poo!!!!


i like to get rid of it, and #2

and use a simple rubber stopper with a chain. sometimes old school is best IMHO

well that makes sense, I hate trying to snake through the drain, didn't realize I could do it through the overflow, thanks!

Still haven't dealt with the laundry tub, but will have to soon; I have laundry to do! The pipes under there are heavy duty, old pipes.. will a sawzall cut through those? I would like to just replace the whole trap so I can snake it more easily if/when needed.

yes, a sawsall will cut threw the pipe

then, denending on the size it is either 1 1/2'' or 2''

http://screencast.com/t/ZbopgUJDU to transition to pvc

then, get, http://screencast.com/t/PH7fLWt2Dh7

and http://screencast.com/t/3GnZab05xf

With a metal cutting blade, yes, a sawzall will.

That is why I said I would unclog it with a sawzall, because I would cut that old metal trap out of there and replace it with a plastic trap that is easy to disassemble to clean out.

Think twice before you go to cutting it out, it might not be as easy as it appears.

for now, I am good. I caved and used some Drano. After using it, the sink wasn't draining at all (at least I had it draining slowly before). Then I used a sink plunger and the drano must have loosened things because it finally cleared! The water is draining now. Went and bought some lint filters for the washer discharge.

thanks for all your help! At some point I do want to put in a new trap, so your advice is appreciated.