Learning Plumber
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Hi new here, from the UK, doing my homework...
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angelaplattffl
Member
hello. thank you for having me. I am angela from DC. I have a question: I rent the basement. It is a seperate unit with its own kitchen and bathroom. the kitchen sinks is always slow to drain and tends to back up. a professional does come and unclog from upstairs, however, it does not last. this is a very old home. the previous owner used to poor grease down the drain.
how do i keep it from getting clogged. or what can i use to assist with the draining process
how do i keep it from getting clogged. or what can i use to assist with the draining process
The professional should be snaking your drain from your apartment, just be careful of what you put down the drain, no peels no skins no seeds no pasta no rice yeh that's a lot and I could list more, basically just scrapings from your plate throw everything else away, don't put chemicals down the drain and in my opinion no enzymes that's my 2 cents
As Geofd said, get the plumber to snake from your end of things to be absolutely sure. People do put the weirdest things down drains for sure. When I was a kid just recently married, I used to put used kitty litter down the toilet because it "made sense to me" at the time. Boy was I wrong!
Good luck!
wpns
Well-Known Member
Even with a disposal, don't put coffee grounds down the sink.
Something else I've been doing wrong for over five and a half decades!
angelaplattffl
Member
He does snake from my unit, but the clog itself is in btwn the 2 units. I do not pour any food into my drain. This continual clogging comes from years of the owner pouring grease into the drain upstairs.
The professional has come twice. each time it is $800. Is there anyway for me to unclog the drain myself or to keep it at least 70% open. Yesterday, I woke up with the kitchen sink overflowing. the water from the upstairs unit comes into my unit and does not drain downward unless i constantly use a plunger. Since I work, that is not always an option.
wpns
Well-Known Member
If you are renting, hopefully this is not your expense. If the (new?) owner is no longer pouring grease down the sink, then the professional isn't getting it cleaned out properly. A Grease Clogged Drain: Causes, Cures, and Prevention has some ideas, though the 'real' plumbers here will have to chime in on how effective they might be.
This is a building drain issue if you rent or own it would be on the rental co, or the condo association to make that repair
arctic bill
Well-Known Member
I used to give my clients the $250 speech after unblocking their drains , It went like this
just toilet paper and human waste and soap. period . No Kleenex, no paper towels, no female products , no dental floss, no grease, no coffee grounds , no q tips, no veggies, just human waste and toilet paper or i"be back .
just toilet paper and human waste and soap. period . No Kleenex, no paper towels, no female products , no dental floss, no grease, no coffee grounds , no q tips, no veggies, just human waste and toilet paper or i"be back .
My neighbors and I pour a cup of white vinegar down all of our drains once a month. Since doing so, nobody has had any plumbing issues.
We have this issue at work I'm not pointing fingers at the op or anyone , people think the sink/disposal is a waterized trash barrel
Rice,peels,skins,just wash scrapes off the plate and use the real trash barrel for everything else
angelaplattffl
Member
Yes, this is my responsibility....which is why it is a court issue....i.e. the courts are withholding rent bc the landlord is not repairing the house. that is a totally separate issue.
I need assistance in being able to clear at least 70% of the drain. People say do not use the liquid drain cleaners in the stores (home depot) but they seem to work better than the professional plumbers.
Seriously, not to get off topic, I need strong suggestions as to how to clear at least 70% of the problem. talking to the professional plumbers just does not work. It is not resolving the problem. they tell me to call them. they unclog the drain. It works for maybe 3 days and then it starts to clog again.
angelaplattffl
Member
I wish I had a $250 repair problem. The plumbers here charge $800
wpns
Well-Known Member
OK, so hot water (as hot as you can get it), strong soap, floor wax remover, vinegar, look at the drain cleaners and see which ones are acidic (see vinegar, but they seem to range all the way up to sulfuric acid, so see What Are the Pros and Cons of a Sulfuric Acid Drain Cleaner? Uses & More), Pine-Sol, ammonia, are some of the things I'd try. DO NOT MIX the above!
Vinegar is cheap ($2-3 per gallon), start with that, pour a gallon down the sink today and then a cup or two a day for the next week or two, then escalate as required.
Hi Angela! I sympathize with your plight and hope you can get it resolved but I missed where the 70% metric came from and how can that be measured?
wpns
Well-Known Member
I'd imagine she meant "most" rather than "70.00 percent as measured by flow rate of 5.0 GPM with a head of 12 inches water column at 25 degrees C, barometric pressure of 1013.25 millibars, and no other drains operating for an hour before." She only gave us one significant digit after all.
That's what I thoughtI'd imagine she meant "most" rather than "70.00 percent as measured by flow rate of 5.0 GPM with a head of 12 inches water column at 25 degrees C, barometric pressure of 1013.25 millibars, and no other drains operating for an hour before." She only gave us one significant digit after all.
Be careful using sulfuric acid. I ended up in the emergency room for 4 hours because of it.
