BATHROOM SINK WON'T DRAIN

[richardbakewell]

Hope everyone is hanging in there. I have a bathroom sink that won't drain past the P trap. It happened out of nowhere. I did the Draino trick, didn't work. Then took about the P trap and cleaned it. No success. Also snaked the line, and found some clog but nothing major. The water for some reason sits in the P trap and will not drain into the main line. Any suggestions?

 

[Jeff H Young]

Hope everyone is hanging in there. I have a bathroom sink that won't drain past the P trap. It happened out of nowhere. I did the Draino trick, didn't work. Then took about the P trap and cleaned it. No success. Also snaked the line, and found some clog but nothing major. The water for some reason sits in the P trap and will not drain into the main line. Any suggestions?

Its not the p-trap, water drains thru open pipes, water doesn't drain thru stoppage you've got a stoppage but evidently nothing major. Take care of the minor stoppage and it will drain

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

Did you make sure the vertical is clear from the bowl down to the p-trap? It's a great place for hair to hang up on the stopper.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Hope everyone is hanging in there. I have a bathroom sink that won't drain past the P trap. It happened out of nowhere. I did the Draino trick, didn't work. Then took about the P trap and cleaned it. No success. Also snaked the line, and found some clog but nothing major. The water for some reason sits in the P trap and will not drain into the main line. Any suggestions?

Drano never works, only on cooking grease lined traps it might help.
Older California homes have galvanized steel drain pipes. If you are sure it is not at the pop up, it could be anywhere in the steel pipes. It could be a simple block that a snake can clear or the pipe has collapsed internally from corrosion and a power snake maybe needed.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Drano never works, only on cooking grease lined traps it might help.
Older California homes have galvanized steel drain pipes. If you are sure it is not at the pop up, it could be anywhere in the steel pipes. It could be a simple block that a snake can clear or the pipe has collapsed internally from corrosion and a power snake maybe needed.

He said he snaked it? Longer snake ? Call plumber!

 

[Reach4]

I have a bathroom sink that won't drain past the P trap. It happened out of nowhere. I did the Draino trick, didn't work. Then took about the P trap and cleaned it. No success. Also snaked the line, and found some clog but nothing major. The water for some reason sits in the P trap and will not drain into the main line. Any suggestions?

How far did you snake?
I got a RIDGID PowerSpin Plus

I powered it with a drill.

I bought it for a bathroom drain, and it worked great for me. I actually went through the 1-1/4 trap, and before I knew it, it had played out about 12 ft of snake, and the blockage several feet below the santee had been cleared. I was prepared to enter at the trap adapter on the santee, but thought I would try the lazy stay-dry top entry. I know it has limitations.

I only snaked through the trap in case it worked. I was expecting to have to do more disassembly. It was really handy to be able to run water during the snaking. You have some major turns before you even get to your trap.


You may want to call a drain cleaning specialist. Do you have a vent on the roof over the lavatory? If so, the drain cleaner may stick a big cleanout snake down the air vent.

 

[Alternatlert]

I have the similar problem, please, share the results here. I'd like to know what may I do to prevent drains in my bathroom.

 

[ajbell]

Hi All
I have a similar problem and I really hope somebody can give me some advice.

I have double vanity unit in my upstairs bathroom which appeared to be blocked
yesterday morning.

I thought it was only hair so I ignored it till I was woken by the sound of water dripping through my ground floor ceiling
from the bathroom with the sinks directly above!

Both sinks had filled with water during the night and were overflowing but no taps were on.

I "think" the water was coming from the AC condensate pipes which are in the attic and both feed into a vertical pipe which
is running though the same wall as my double sinks.

I have checked the sinks to for hair clogs and have removed both sink traps and they are not blocked
so I assume the blockage must be below the "Tee fixture".

From reading the posts here I know that it would have been better if a double fixture sanitary tee had been used to allow the snake to enter.

I have tried multiple times to get a snake down the vent but it missed the vertical entry and just travels horizontally from one sink the the other.

I also looked at getting access from the attic above because I think that the condensate pipe somehow connects to the same drain as the sinks.
I can see standing water in this pipe but I don't know of that is normal or not.

I had to rip some drywall away to get a cleared look the plumbing so it is all a mess!
I want to try and fix this myself and don't mind having to replace some plumbing to make it right.

Thanks

 

[Reach4]

I have a similar problem and I really hope somebody can give me some advice.

I have double vanity unit in my upstairs bathroom which appeared to be blocked
yesterday morning.

I thought it was only hair so I ignored it till I was woken by the sound of water dripping through my ground floor ceiling
from the bathroom with the sinks directly above!

ajbell: If you let it sit for a while (block that open pipe!), how much water can you add before the water starts rising in the bowl? Consider using a 5 gallon bucket, and estimating what fraction of the bucket you can pour. The purpose is to estimate how far down the clog is.

Can you see how you could put a cleanout in the vent line, maybe by ripping some more drywall off above that double santee?

I can see standing water in this pipe but I don't know of that is normal or not.

I don't know what "this pipe" is, but standing water in a drain or vent pipe will not be normal unless you are referring to a trap.

 

[ajbell]

Hi Reach4

Thanks for the reply.

sorry "this pipe" is a vertical pipe that the 2 AC units in the attic feed into - I believe it is the water from the AC unit, I think it may be a drain trap.

I turned the AC back on and water is now dripping from the pipe where I removed the trap so it must feed into the same drain. If I turn off the AC the dripping stops.

It has been sitting for about 1o hours now and I can't add any water before it starts rising in the sink bowls.
So I guess either it is totally blocked or the blockage is very close?

I think I maybe ready to rip out more drywall as it is an old sink anyway and my wife would be keen to replace it.

 

[Reach4]

Ya know that feeding drain water into a vent is not really what you are supposed do. If making changes, maybe bring the AC condenser water down to a branch tailpiece on one of the lavatories. Or if appropriate, maybe route that outside.

 

[ajbell]

Hey - I think I have success!

I cut a 1x1 window out of the pipe above the double sanatee and got the snake down that.
There appeared to be a blockage just below the sanatee.
I think it must have then shifted as I got a further 6- 8' into the pipe before I hit resistance again (it may have hit a bend)

I connected everything up and ran both taps for about 5 mins without any signs of the sinks backing up.

I just hope that is the problem solved
Time will tell.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Condensation drain from AC units are full of algae. A common problem in Florida where the condensate drain plugs up with this goo. Sometime compressed air blows it out but is is always best to use a garden hose with water pressure behind it. From the air handler to the drain it is usually 3/4". From your picture it seems that the 3/4 line drains into the vent pipe (1.5" minimum for the bathroom sinks). Could be after years of condensate the pipe could be plugged up with algae plus hair and everything else that goes down the drain.

You might just try pouring bleach down the drain from the attic, if possible before opening pipe up, though adding a clean out above the double sani-tee would be the first place to start. After you get the pipes cleared, remove the cover at the air handler and take a look at the coil drain pan. You'll usually see a mess.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Nothing new to this but a Florida guy going to know even better, on my personal house I put warm water down condensate lines to keep clear and some bleach. Just did service call issue was the PVC line plugged and sink drain was fine. Maintain your home to save grief don't allow slow drains deal with it. flush extra water minor effort

 

[ajbell]

Thanks guys - I will look into cleaning those lines !