I hope its not my main drain

Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

RE111

Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2018
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Location
Tampa
I just bought a small home that was built in the 1950's. The kitchen and bathroom share a wall and the kitchen sink is directly lined up with the bathroom sink. My bathroom has the sink, toilet, and shower all lined up in a linear row. The inside of the house was completely remodeled and Im sure they cut corners even though everything looks nice.

My issue has manifest in a few different ways.
- First, a week ago I noticed that when I took a shower the toilet started to bubble. This lasted two or three days and stopped
- Next, I have a split sink and noticed that when I run my garbage disposal the other side of the sink backs up. The water drains immediately but it backs up for a few seconds and its getting a little worse.
- I noticed yesterday that the bathroom sink smelled a little like rotten eggs and wrote this off as bacteria in the lines
- Finally, I noticed tonight when I ran my garbage disposal the bathroom sink also backed up. And it looks like dirt and grass (little tiny cutup pieces) are left in the sink.

What do you all think? Could be a clog in the main drain, venting issue, or just a regular clog? And should I call a plumber or dry pouring some strong de-clogger down the kitchen sink, tub, and bathroom sink? Thank you.
 
Sounds like a vent issue. Look under kitchen and lavatory. The drain piece coming off sink should go into wall. which hopefully has a vent. The best way to get an idea is to go into attic and see how pipes come up thru ceiling and either connect to a pipe going out roof or going straight out roof alone. But also septic or city sewer? Septic might need pumping if you use high dollar toilet tissue. The softer it is the worse it is for septic. Could be a clog a partial clog. Roots. While your under house. What kind of pipe do you have? White plastic, black plastic , black metal or orange pipe?
 
it sounds like a stoppage....if you have access to a clean out and your are confident rent a drain machine....you could open the cleanout and see if your getting flow while running a fixture... another place you can snake from is your toilet... pull it...that's the biggest point of entry
 
So, I took a plunger to my kitchen sink on the side with the garbage disposable and some junk came up in the bathroom sink. Basically a ball of hair. Still when I run the garbage disposable the other side of the sink gets some back up but it drains immediately. I also notice that the inside of the sink drain looks rusted (picture attached). I’m starting to think that there is a small clog either in the somewhere in the line or in the garbage disposable. I took a picture of the setup and it’s attached.
 

Attachments

  • C1409C43-5032-4CA3-BC65-748A8FE6E917.jpeg
    C1409C43-5032-4CA3-BC65-748A8FE6E917.jpeg
    2.1 MB · Views: 35
  • 6907D20C-E454-4D4C-9B63-5367C03624D0.jpeg
    6907D20C-E454-4D4C-9B63-5367C03624D0.jpeg
    850.6 KB · Views: 31
I’m thinking about checking the garbage disposable for a clog and snaking the line. What do you guys think?
 
Start with the trap. Those slip joint nuts should just be hand tight. Then you can remove the trap elbowing going into wall and try a snake. I don’t like snakes and do anything to not use them. I would suggest locating the pipe that has the problem and remove the problem. If it’s all pvc then you could be undersized or a “belly”. Can you get underneathe? Might even be a cleanout under floor
 
So the kitchen sink affects the bathroom sink.
The shower affects the toilet.
Any affects when flushing the toilet a couple of times?
Is the toilet on the same wall as the sink?
Can you see the piping below the bathroom and/or kitchen? Like a crawl space maybe?
Septic tank system or city sewer?
Do you have just one 3" vent through roof?
 
I would say that the tee they used under the kitchen sink is not baffled that is why is backing into the other side. That tee should have a baffle in it directing the water
that tee is installed incorrectly the branch should pick up one side and the top of the tee should pick up the other side
 

Latest posts

Back
Top