Recent content by reybo

Problem solved. Hair plug under a slug of dirt. Senior sweetheart recently began washing her hair in the sink. Then her daughter washed Virginia red clay off granddaughter's sneakers. No match for a Brasscraft 25-ft (not 50) drill-powered auger.

Bladders have that need for a garden hose, making them unwieldy and often messy. But you put me on to Brasscraft drill powered augers, and I'm getting one on ebay. It's 50-feet, which is long enough to get in trouble. Found that out when the plumber I called in a few months back got his stuck...

If this observed description (not diagnosis) wasn't an illogical mystery, it wouldn't have come to the forum. Were the snake going up the pipe rather than down, it's unlikely the drain would be blocked or the stuff retrieved be wet mud. Since I'm reluctant to use a pressure blaster tool for...

This is a 1952 ranch house with full walk-out basement. There are two upper floor baths side by side, and one downstairs bath. My wife mentioned that the sink in one upstairs bathroom drained slowly after a short time of use. It was actually worse. It changed to slow after 20 seconds, and then...

"Rooter Guy" was here today. Sludge, not airway. Plumbers 1, Rey 0. Says "Drain Care" by Zep is crap. Recommends BIO One, a patented biodegradable bacteria culture. Anyone else like this to eat sludge?

Makes sense. But how would a clogged drain make the left (lower) drain gurgle when the right sink is draining? And if the left drain is closed, the right drain is significantly slower.

Exactly! In this case, that hole is the left sink drain sucking in air needed for the right sink to drain.

Another point to support that: If I close the left (lower) drain, the right drain is much slower. Very much. So the gurgle is definitely the sound of air being sucked through the left trap when the right sink drains. Rooting the drain pipe does not sound like a cure for this issue, though it...

Which sounds like what is happening when the right sink is asked to drain a large pot of water. It does it, but with gurgling from the left drain, the lower one. But not the reverse. The lower drain does not make the upper one gurgle, which is why I'm seeking expertise.

Fun, educational experiment. Place a drinking straw in a glass of water, cover the top hole with your thumb, then lift the straw. See where the water in the straw goes.

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...

Separating the vertical pipe to the shower head from the horizontal The subject combined with the pic tells my problem. The only thing easily detached is the new valves & lines. How do I get the T unscrewed from the vertical steel pipe to the shower head without tearing out the wall? That T is...

This 1952 house with still nice tile showers and real plaster walls could do with a modern mixer valve in the shower in place of the old hot/cold valves it has now. I can get a couple of smitty plates to cover the old holes in the tile. The problem is the plumbing behind the tile...