slow draining garbage disposal

lchiu7

Hi

I have looked aorund a fair bit for solutions for this problem but no solution seems to match my current issue.

As noted, my garbage disposal drains slowly. Interestingly, if I turn on the disposal when there is fair bit of water to drain out, it drains much faster.

I have checked the obvious things

Removed the traps and made sure they were not blocked. They were all quite clear.

Poured some water down the sink with the traps removed and noticed that the water coming out of the disposal directly flows quite well so it doesn't seem like it's blocked in the disposal itself.

The only thing I haven't been able to check is if the pipe after the trap going to the drain outside is blocked. This is because the house is on an elevated section and the plumbing goes down a fair bit of exposed pipe before connecting to the main sewer lines which go direclty into the sewer.

The only other thing I can think about is the pipe from the trap down to the main sewer lines in the house is blocked so I would need a snake or augur to clear it. But what puzzles me, why does the disposal drain okay when it's spinning. Is it some additional pressure down the pipe the spinning disposal creates?

Thanks for any hints before I have to call in a plumber

Just Bill

The usual problem is farther downstream. It may be time to snake out the drain, and check that the vent is clear. A partial clog will slow things, but a partially clogged vent can do the same thing.

plumber Jim

How many basin sink is this? if its a two basin sink does each basin have a trap or do they share a trap using a baffle tee? If the disposal goes into a baffle tee take it out and make sure its not clogged then put it back on.

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lchiu7

Thanks. This is a one basin sink so only one trap. As for the blockage being further down the line, that probably is the issue. I was just puzzled why turning on the disposal even when there is no garbage helps the flow of water but I guess that has to with with the water swirling down the pipe.

I have purchased a plumber's snake but might need to call in an expert :-(