Help! Bathroom sink clogged

e in br

We have a sink that is stopped up. Drain-0 hasn't worked so my husband did the snake cable some twenty feet and nothing. Still stopped up. How can you tell if the cable is going up the vent instead of down the drain pipe? Don't want to have to call out the professionals. Thanks.

Mike Swearingen

Remove all of that dangerous caustic drain cleaner that you can.
A bathroom sink drain is usually stopped up with an organic gunk mix of hair, grease, makeup, soap scum, etc. A plumber's snake will usually just punch through the gunk with little clearing effect.
I have found that the best drain cleaner for this situation is a good non-caustic enzyme-based drain cleaner like DrainCare. It won't harm the fixture, the pipes or you, but it WILL eat out organic gunk overnight.
You just run a little warm water, pour in the DrainCare and let it eat overnight.
Then flush it down the next day with hot water. I always start that flushing process with a kettle of boiling water.
If it is really clogged, it may take more than one treatment.
Good Luck!
Mike

majakdragon

This may sound silly but, have you checked the drop-pipe from the sink? If it has a pop-up drain stopper, many times hair and oils will build up on the mechanism that goes into this pipe. Disconnect the pull-up metal rod that connects to the round rod that goes into the pipe. Then unscrew the nut on the pipe and remove the whole rod assembly. Now you can remove the stopper and check for build-up.

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jamiedolan

Once you get rid of the drain cleaner from the sink (shopvac), you need take the trap apart, and either clean it or replace it. Chances are good that the clog is either in the trap or junk clogged on the stopper or both. Once the trap is out, it is easy to see both. Keep in mind the trap will be filled with the drain cleaner that is caustic.

There is a possibility that there is a clog further down the line, but if that is the case, you really need to run a power reamer down the drain or replace it.

What kind of material is the trap made out of? If it's not PVC, I would replace it with PVC.

Good Luck
Jamie

sssalas

It dosn't all aways work, but it has for me on a few occations. And granet Im no plumber! I'll use plastic bags to block the overflow in the bathroom sink; then use more plastic bags to create a seal around the tip of an air blower, that is connected to an air compressor. And put it in the drain and blow air though it, sometimes it quickly works, other times it dosn't, and Ill do that for about 1/2 an hour. If that dosn't work it's the manuel snake time, and for me that can take a lot of time! And runing the snake through the U is most harest, persistance for mas has payed off, even though like you I wasn't sure if snake was going up vent. Ive found runing it in and out for an entire afternoon can clear a plug, but not alaways...