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Clogged water stays at drain rim

1190 Views 7 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  oh'mike, 
G
Clogged water stays at drain rim (sink strainer)

Hello,

I have a second kitchen sink on the second floor of the house, I'm sure is connected to my first floor kitchen because a while ago when the second floor sink pour water in, I hear "glo glo glo" on my first floor sink but at the time the water flowed fine.

Two days ago the second floor sink clogged and I pour some drano-type chemical and let it sit over night, poured hot water in the morning, it did nothing, then next night I pour bleach over night and hot water next 2-3 hours and plunge the heck out of it. I even got a 12' feet auger all the way in and nothing seemed obstructed. A lot black/brown material came back up after pluinging and it started flowing again, I can even leave the faucet running and it flows BUT the water stays at the rim of the drain. I don't know what else to do. It working again but water doesn't leave the drain completely, it stays at the rim. I'm sure that's an indication of something.

Please help. I was thinking of using an auger that connects to my drill and is longer to see how far I can reach but this water staying at the rim is a mistery to me. I hope this was clear. Again, I can use the sink leave it on for as long as I want and the water flows but it stays at the top of the drain...????

Thank you so much for all your help!

ps. I'm trying baking soda with distilled vinager tonight to see if it helps, since is not chemically strong, I thought it wouldn't hurt.
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J
Vents pluged. That why you can hear the glug glug sound, it's creating a suction.
Take straw and suck up some water in it, now put your finger over the tip of it and pull it out. What happens?
That would be my first guess.
PS Never use a drain cleaner!
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G
How do you go about cleaning the vents. These are in the roof. Right?

I just used baking soda and vinegar earlier. Nothing change...

Thank you!
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J
Most often yes, but sometimes you'll see something that looks like one of these under the sink if it was added on after the house was built.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...9D35661469298B5B52DD83CA27295&selectedIndex=7
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G
No. This is what is under the sink. Now keep in mind the first floor sink is fine! Does that mean that the clog is between the second floor sink and the vent on the roof only? Wouldn't the first floor sink have to be clogged as well?

Thank you!

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mstplumber
Doesn't sound like a vent problem to me

Hi,

I just saw your post after a long absence from this forum. If I understand your problem, the water does not drain below the level of the sink strainer. Is this correct?

If so, I don't think it is the vent. It could be the vent but in my 25 years of experience I have never seen a stopped up vent cause what you are describing. If it was the vent, I think the water would eventually drain.

Have you removed the continuous waste (the drain assembly under the sink) completely and tried the auger that way? It really sounds like the line is at least partially blocked. You can rent a "sink machine" that is essentially a small, drill mounted electric sewer cable. These sometimes work wonders.

Finally, if it does turn out to be the vent, the only real way to clear it would be from the roof. (maybe with the rented sink machine).

Also, I agree that you should NEVER use drain cleaners, especially in older piping systems. They rarely work and can really damage your piping.

Good Luck,
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mstplumber said:
Hi,

I just saw your post after a long absence from this forum. If I understand your problem, the water does not drain below the level of the sink strainer. Is this correct?
Click to expand...
This is correct. The water flows but stays at the sink strainer level. I do have a roof vent but I might just try an auger that can connect to my drill and work with that, and then see about renting the machine you mentioned. If not, getting to the roof is something that I think I'm not capable of doing at these temperatures in Chicago with the snow, etc.

Thank you for the prompt reply.
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O
MSTPLUMBER offered some good sound methods---those are old galvanized pipes--the grab grease and crud----remove the white P-trap and run the drill powered auger into that opening---

Be patient and run that snake in and out several times to knock as much crud from the insides of the pipe as possible---the first pass might just drill a small hole in the blockage--so--in and out several times will be worth the effort.
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