Sink overflowing from bathtub

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Mitcheal

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my kitchen is directly below the kids’ bathroom. Almost every time someone takes a bath with a lot of bubbles, it backs up into the kitchen sink. Normal bath with minimal suds or a shower does not cause issues. Any ideas?

Thanks
Mitch
 

WorthFlorida

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Depending on the type of pipe and age, there could be some blockage. Not sure how the bubbles are getting past the kitchen p-trap? Those bubbles should work up to the vent pipe, not your sink.

If you really want to check, remove the p trap and have apan or water bucket handy. Place a few inches of clear water in the tub and let it drain. no water should come out of the wall pipe under the sink. Then try it with the bubbles. I'll suspect that clear water will back up slightly and into your bucket. That should not happen.
 

Mitcheal

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Depending on the type of pipe and age, there could be some blockage. Not sure how the bubbles are getting past the kitchen p-trap? Those bubbles should work up to the vent pipe, not your sink.

If you really want to check, remove the p trap and have apan or water bucket handy. Place a few inches of clear water in the tub and let it drain. no water should come out of the wall pipe under the sink. Then try it with the bubbles. I'll suspect that clear water will back up slightly and into your bucket. That should not happen.


thanks for the insight. i did like you said, and i got maybe 1/4 cup of water in the bucket. prob even less. could this be an issue with a clogged vent somehow?
 

Reach4

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thanks for the insight. i did like you said, and i got maybe 1/4 cup of water in the bucket. prob even less. could this be an issue with a clogged vent somehow?
No. Partially clogged drain, probably where the drain line turns from vertical to horizontal under the floor under kitchen sink santee.

Get it cleaned.

Do you have a disposal? Septic tank? The answers to those questions don't change the answer about the problem being a clogged drain. I presume you have a bathtub or shower on the bottom floor that does not back up.
 

Mitcheal

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No. Partially clogged drain, probably where the drain line turns from vertical to horizontal under the floor under kitchen sink santee.

Get it cleaned.

Do you have a disposal? Septic tank? The answers to those questions don't change the answer about the problem being a clogged drain. I presume you have a bathtub or shower on the bottom floor that does not back up.


Have a disposal, on city sewer. I found a clean out on the outside wall of the kitchen sink. I snaked it with all of my 25 ft snake, pulled back a small amount of hair. It’s a small diameter snake though.

No issues anywhere else in the house
 

Reach4

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A bigger snake would be good. Pay most attention to the change of direction maybe 4 ft down. Even with your little snake, you might find the test that you reported on in #4 has improved.

If the cleanout is a 45 pointed down, maybe you could get a small Brasscraft drain bladder down a few feet there. Don't force it; you would not want to get that stuck.

The reason a garbage disposal is relevant is there is more stuff prone to helping make a clog.
 

Mitcheal

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A bigger snake would be good. Pay most attention to the change of direction maybe 4 ft down. Even with your little snake, you might find the test that you reported on in #4 has improved.

If the cleanout is a 45 pointed down, maybe you could get a small Brasscraft drain bladder down a few feet there. Don't force it; you would not want to get that stuck.

The reason a garbage disposal is relevant is there is more stuff prone to helping make a clog.

It’s a horizontal clean out. I’ll have to take a bubble bath to really test it.
 

Reach4

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It’s a horizontal clean out.
That horizontal probably goes to the santee, and then drainage goes down to where the clog is probable. I don't think that a drain bladder would make the turn, and if you don't make the turn, water would be driven up as well as down when you pressurize the drain bladder.
 

WorthFlorida

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Reach, since the house is in Florida so there is a 99% chance that the drain line is under a slab.

Michael, there is another cleanout (4") outside in the grass or near the exterior wall of the house. Problem is the Floritram grows over them and they get lost. My Lake Worth house it was a few feet from the outside wall, my current Orlando home is in the front lawn. They are a 4" end cap. Checking the roof vent is a good idea.

If you have a pressure washer or you can rent one. Look up "Clog Hog" and don't get any other brand. If you live in the Orlando area you can borrow mine. It's a 50 footer.
 

Reach4

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Reach, since the house is in Florida so there is a 99% chance that the drain line is under a slab.
Agreed. But in that slab, the block is likely an elbow where the flow switches from vertical to horizontal. When I had backup from my kitchen into the laundry sink below, I am confident that was the case. A single story house with a basement is similar to a 2 story house on a slab. I cut out a section of drain pipe to insert the drain bladder. I could easily insert it all of the way down to the level of the elbow. No problem for 7 more years or so. Then it was easy to repeat. I had no disposal. I restored the cut-out pipe section with flex couplings, so easy open, easy close. My santee path was all in line vertically.

Clog hog would be a great step up over a drain bladder. I think you match the clog hog to the pressure washer-- 1.5 gpm electric vs 3 gpm gas.
 

Mitcheal

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Reach, since the house is in Florida so there is a 99% chance that the drain line is under a slab.

Michael, there is another cleanout (4") outside in the grass or near the exterior wall of the house. Problem is the Floritram grows over them and they get lost. My Lake Worth house it was a few feet from the outside wall, my current Orlando home is in the front lawn. They are a 4" end cap. Checking the roof vent is a good idea.

If you have a pressure washer or you can rent one. Look up "Clog Hog" and don't get any other brand. If you live in the Orlando area you can borrow mine. It's a 50 footer.


There is a cleanout in the front of the house. not sure that my snake will reach it though. I'm in jacksonville, just far enough to make it too long of a drive. thanks though.
 

jadejacob

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When wastewater is backing up into the bathtub, the clog is much deeper in the plumbing system and can cause more damage. It is best to hire professional plumbers to perform drain cleaning in this type of situation.
 
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