reybo
New Member
May sound familiar but it's not the usual.
4400 sq.ft. 62-year-old house. Dual sink in the kitchen with plastic drain pipes. Drains 16" apart. One enters the wall 8" below the other.
Left sink (lower drain) will back up if a pot of water is emptied in or after a heavy stream from the faucet. It drains, but slowly. A plunger is mildly effective in speeding the flow. Problem has become more noticeable over the last 3 months.
Right sink almost never backs up, but when a pot of water is emptied in, while it flows out a gurgling noise comes from the left sink.
Drains have been flushed with boiling water, treated several times over the last 5 weeks with Drano crystals following the instructions, and treated 12 or so times in the last 3 months with a product "Drain Care" (Zep) claiming to be an enzyme conditioner that eats pipe grease.
All ineffective, though these treatments may have prevented this from growing worse (or possibly made it worse.)
Why might this be a vent issue? I'll describe the vent, and try to attach a drawing.
One iron vent pipe on the roof enters the attic and via a 3-way connector, makes 90-degree turns into 3 pipes sloping downhill at a slight grade. The right one becomes the vent for the clothes washer. The center one leads to the cellar where it goes untapped straight through the concrete floor. I have no idea where it goes. The left one is the vent for the kitchen sinks.
There is a plugged floor drain in the utility room in the cellar. If you pull either of the 2 plugs in that drain while the clothes washer is emptying, water will back up through the unplugged hole, then drain out. The washer is on the floor above. There is no drainage issue at the washer. It works fine.
Sad to say, this is not a town with abundant talented plumbers. 90 miles away they can earn twice as much, and many of the good ones commute. The best of the rest are hired by the local university and two hospitals, leaving slim pickings for the homeowner. You can pay though the nose for the firm with six trucks and an office staff, or two-thirds less for the home-based journeyman whose wife handles the logistics. The quality of the plumber who comes to the door will be the same, more likely than not.
The builder plans and engineering drawings for the house disappeared around 1958, so determining the drainage paths is a challenge. We have good drain rooters in town but before I call one, I want to be sure that's the best first thing to do.
Any guidance is much appreciated.
4400 sq.ft. 62-year-old house. Dual sink in the kitchen with plastic drain pipes. Drains 16" apart. One enters the wall 8" below the other.
Left sink (lower drain) will back up if a pot of water is emptied in or after a heavy stream from the faucet. It drains, but slowly. A plunger is mildly effective in speeding the flow. Problem has become more noticeable over the last 3 months.
Right sink almost never backs up, but when a pot of water is emptied in, while it flows out a gurgling noise comes from the left sink.
Drains have been flushed with boiling water, treated several times over the last 5 weeks with Drano crystals following the instructions, and treated 12 or so times in the last 3 months with a product "Drain Care" (Zep) claiming to be an enzyme conditioner that eats pipe grease.
All ineffective, though these treatments may have prevented this from growing worse (or possibly made it worse.)
Why might this be a vent issue? I'll describe the vent, and try to attach a drawing.
One iron vent pipe on the roof enters the attic and via a 3-way connector, makes 90-degree turns into 3 pipes sloping downhill at a slight grade. The right one becomes the vent for the clothes washer. The center one leads to the cellar where it goes untapped straight through the concrete floor. I have no idea where it goes. The left one is the vent for the kitchen sinks.
There is a plugged floor drain in the utility room in the cellar. If you pull either of the 2 plugs in that drain while the clothes washer is emptying, water will back up through the unplugged hole, then drain out. The washer is on the floor above. There is no drainage issue at the washer. It works fine.
Sad to say, this is not a town with abundant talented plumbers. 90 miles away they can earn twice as much, and many of the good ones commute. The best of the rest are hired by the local university and two hospitals, leaving slim pickings for the homeowner. You can pay though the nose for the firm with six trucks and an office staff, or two-thirds less for the home-based journeyman whose wife handles the logistics. The quality of the plumber who comes to the door will be the same, more likely than not.
The builder plans and engineering drawings for the house disappeared around 1958, so determining the drainage paths is a challenge. We have good drain rooters in town but before I call one, I want to be sure that's the best first thing to do.
Any guidance is much appreciated.