Frequent and extended gurgling in our powder room sink

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Margarett

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One inch. Also if the level gets lower, so even if you don't catch the event, you can tell water got away.

https://www.amazon.com/Rectorseal-97402-Magic-Trap-Tee/dp/B002FY8ZIS/ref=sr_1_1 is a way you can put on an AAV for the bathroom and/or kitchen possibly DIY. You replace the existing slip joint trap with that, and you mount an AAV atop the vertical.
Okay. Thank you. So there is no way to look down the pop up assembly to determine how high the water level is?
 

WorthFlorida

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Have you tried filling the bath tub up then open the drain? I think there is a dip in the waste line outside to the sewer or any long straight run? The large volume of water is sucking out any water that may be in the dip that it acts like a second trap. The symptoms may only seem to affect the two sinks you hear it from but probable other drains are affected. Cast iron because it is made of many sections, will flex with ground movement mainly from roots, ground selling or a heavy freeze might just reach the pipe and the ground swells. It seems that a camera is needed to scope out the main stack. 100 year old house, any idea how old the CI is?

Google "waste line dip" and click on images.
 

Margarett

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Have you tried filling the bath tub up then open the drain? I think there is a dip in the waste line outside to the sewer or any long straight run? The large volume of water is sucking out any water that may be in the dip that it acts like a second trap. The symptoms may only seem to affect the two sinks you hear it from but probable other drains are affected. Cast iron because it is made of many sections, will flex with ground movement mainly from roots, ground selling or a heavy freeze might just reach the pipe and the ground swells. It seems that a camera is needed to scope out the main stack. 100 year old house, any idea how old the CI is?

Google "waste line dip" and click on image

Have you tried filling the bath tub up then open the drain? I think there is a dip in the waste line outside to the sewer or any long straight run? The large volume of water is sucking out any water that may be in the dip that it acts like a second trap. The symptoms may only seem to affect the two sinks you hear it from but probable other drains are affected. Cast iron because it is made of many sections, will flex with ground movement mainly from roots, ground selling or a heavy freeze might just reach the pipe and the ground swells. It seems that a camera is needed to scope out the main stack. 100 year old house, any idea how old the CI is?

Google "waste line dip" and click on images.
Thank you for your post. I would expect the CI is original. Several years ago, we were experiencing gurgling in our 2nd floor sink when the toilet was flushed when it got less than 15 degrees outside (thankfully not a too common occurrence where I live!). A plumber went on the roof to send a camera down the stack and discovered a bend above the 2nd floor so we could never get a camera thru the whole stack.
I have not tried filling the bath tub up -- frankly the idea freaks me out. But in any event, in our case, using a small amount of water (for example, running the kitchen sink at full force for half a minute) would definitely make the powder room sink gurgle. It doesn't take much.
 

Reach4

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Can anyone think of why quickly emptying gallons of water down the kitchen sink makes a temporary fix to my problem?
I'll try. Suppose a partial blockage between your blue and green lines. As you add water into the partial blockage, the water rises including the red lines toward the lavatory. That pressurized the air, and blows air backwards thru the lavatory trap. An AAV would not help that.

Then you make the big flood from the kitchen, and it opens up part of the partial blockage. The water does not back up so much, so it does not push the air.

How does that sound to explain the symptoms?
 

Margarett

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I'll try. Suppose a partial blockage between your blue and green lines. As you add water into the partial blockage, the water rises including the red lines toward the lavatory. That pressurized the air, and blows air backwards thru the lavatory trap. An AAV would not help that.

Then you make the big flood from the kitchen, and it opens up part of the partial blockage. The water does not back up so much, so it does not push the air.

How does that sound to explain the symptoms?
Thanks. But how does the big flood down the kitchen drain open up part of the partial blockage? The temporary fix can last for weeks before it slowly gets bad again.
 

Reach4

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Thanks. But how does the big flood down the kitchen drain open up part of the partial blockage? The temporary fix can last for weeks before it slowly gets bad again.
Are you asking how a big flow of water thru a pipe or fitting can increase the opening size of a partial blockage that consists of fat and whatnot?
 

Margarett

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Are you asking how a big flow of water thru a pipe or fitting can increase the opening size of a partial blockage that consists of fat and whatnot?
Well yes. I had thought the water at the very least had to be hot. And I guess I'm more wondering how the blockage forms again when I am extremely careful with what goes down that sink: no fat or grease or anything but the smallest food particles. I have a very fine strainer in the sink.
 

Reach4

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Water goes by fast enough, there is turbulence that applies forces. So little globules of material would move downstream.

The problem with hot water is that the fat could solidify farther down.


I am not sure what the material is. But it is probably soft enough that a small snake can push right thru. You should get somebody with a bigger machine to clean the path. There is also a type of cleaning called hydro jetting. That is more forceful and turbulent than a large flow.

You can also get a camera to go down and record, but I think it is more cost efficient to just clean without looking, unless there is a special problem. But more than a 1/4 inch snake. A pro can go bigger without injuring himself. My model might not be right.
 
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Margarett

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Water goes by fast enough, there is turbulence that applies forces. So little globules of material would move downstream.

The problem with hot water is that the fat could solidify farther down.


I am not sure what the material is. But it is probably soft enough that a small snake can push right thru. You should get somebody with a bigger machine to clean the path. There is also a type of cleaning called hydro jetting. That is more forceful and turbulent than a large flow.

You can also get a camera to go down and record, but I think it is more cost efficient to just clean without looking, unless there is a special problem. But more than a 1/4 inch snake. A pro can go bigger without injuring himself. My model might not be right.
Thanks for all your responses. I want to be sure that I understand correctly. When you say, "But it is probably soft enough that a small snake can push right thru" do you mean that a small snake would not be effective because the material would still be hanging around inside the pipe even after snaking with a small snake? The pipe is only 1.5" diameter so I dont know if that could take more than a 1/4" snake without damaging the pipe.
 

Jeff H Young

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powder room usually means half bath (no tub) but if there is a tub clear that drain too .
 

Reach4

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Thanks for all your responses. I want to be sure that I understand correctly. When you say, "But it is probably soft enough that a small snake can push right thru" do you mean that a small snake would not be effective because the material would still be hanging around inside the pipe even after snaking with a small snake? The pipe is only 1.5" diameter so I dont know if that could take more than a 1/4" snake without damaging the pipe.
That is what I am saying.

That said, I had good luck with a
got a RIDGID PowerSpin Plus.
ridgid-snake-145.jpg



I powered it with a reversing drill. I expect the higher RPM of using the drill helped where hand rotation may not have.

I bought it for a lavatory 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.

I am not sure which horizontal you are talking about, but either way I suspect my PowerSpin Plus could make it. I am thinking the spinning probably helps. That said, I have only used it the one time so far.

I expect clearing a bathroom drain path to be easier than for a kitchen. I suggest looking in Yelp for a drain cleaning specialist near you. I would tend to avoid the franchises, but I expect that some franchisees could locally be good.
 

Margarett

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A plumber came and snaked past the point where the kitchen sink and powder room sink drains meet and connect to the 4" cast iron pipe. We wanted him to go thru the powder room sink because that hasn't been snaked in the 25 years we've lived in the house as opposed to the kitchen which was snaked less than 5 years ago, but he insisted on going through the kitchen sink. In any event, so far so good and we haven't heard the gurgling, so hopefully the problem was solved.
Thanks for all the advice.
 

Jeff H Young

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A plumber came and snaked past the point where the kitchen sink and powder room sink drains meet and connect to the 4" cast iron pipe. We wanted him to go thru the powder room sink because that hasn't been snaked in the 25 years we've lived in the house as opposed to the kitchen which was snaked less than 5 years ago, but he insisted on going through the kitchen sink. In any event, so far so good and we haven't heard the gurgling, so hopefully the problem was solved.
Thanks for all the advice.
I hope its solved too . I think it will be ok.if not snake it again
 
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