Clogged Kitchen sink/disposal

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thewallypug

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I've been perusing the forums here and discovered that the big pot of partly cooked rice that I put down the disposal might have turned into a kind of glue!
Meanwhile, my DIY sister has insisted that I do 5 days of enzyme treatments to get the water draining again. It does drain, about an inch per day right now and the disposal sounds normal.
I have a jar of ZEP Toilet Care Tuneup which is enzymes, and their website says it's different from the sink tune-up in that it has paper-eating enzymes. I'm putting some in tonight, because I'm sure it won't hurt, but will it help?
Plunger doesn't work. Should I go underneath and take off/clean that u-shaped pipe piece if enzymes don't work?
 

Gary Swart

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Cleaning the P trap probably won't fix the problem, but it won't hurt to try it. Doubt if the enzyme stuff will help either, but again it isn't going hurt. One thing NOT to do is chemical drain cleaners. You likely will have to get a plumber that can properly open drain, and you do not want to have harmful chemicals in there when he works on it.
 

Gary Swart

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Cleaning the P trap probably won't fix the problem, but it won't hurt to try it. Doubt if the enzyme stuff will help either, but again it isn't going hurt. One thing NOT to do is chemical drain cleaners. You likely will have to get a plumber that can properly open drain, and you do not want to have harmful chemicals in there when he works on it.
 

thewallypug

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After 2-3 days of enzymes, and several doses of hydrogen peroxide, mostly 7%, the left disposER side started to drain and dispose. (The right side was working.)
I decided to stop putting coffee grounds in it, or potato peels.
Thanks for the responses
 

Jadnashua

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High starch content foods and those with long fibers (say celery, for example) can create a mess in a drain. Combine the two, and it's even worse, a reinforced mess! Some things are better composted, or disposed of in the trash than down the drain.
 

Terry

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If one side drains then it's between the disposer and the tee.

sink_dw_hot.jpg
 
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hj

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Usually AT the tee, unless the diposer is worn out and it is inside the disposer. Coffee grounds plug the pipe under the floor and neither sink drains. Potato peels plug the line at the tee and only the disposer is plugged up.
 
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