Kitchen sink plumbing

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JulieMcCoy

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New kitchen cabinets, countertops, sink...now it's time to install the disposal and hook up everything to the waste line. I was so proud that nothing leaked! However, there's an inch of water in my sink that still hasn't drained, so what have I done wrong? Here's a pic of what it looks like now. This is in a 1971 condo which had a disposal at some point in the past, but not when I moved in. I had two choices of drain pipes (not sure why; one wasn't connected to anything before) - see the pic of what was in my sink base after the cabinet installation. I chose the bottom drain pipe because the other one would be above the outlet from the disposal.

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When you're done laughing at my pipe arrangement, please help - thank you!
 

Reach4

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You need a vent between 3 inches from the output of the U of the p-trap and the drain line, but there is a strong probability that is done for you already in the wall. Sorry for my earlier confusion.
 
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JulieMcCoy

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Thank you, Reach4! I don't think my old plumbing had an AAV, but it seems like a good (meaning effective and easy!) solution. I wonder if this is why my old sink always drained slowly.
 

Reach4

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Let me correct my statement, and I will go back and edit my original mistake. If there is a sanitary tee in the wall there, then the venting would already be ok. So no change from what you did would be needed. Sorry. I was not thinking.

Thank you, Reach4! I don't think my old plumbing had an AAV, but it seems like a good (meaning effective and easy!) solution. I wonder if this is why my old sink always drained slowly.
Lack of venting does not cause slow draining of a sink, at least not as a single problem. Instead bad venting can cause odors. Partially clogged pipes cause slow draining. Kitchen drain pipes clogging where they turn from from vertical to horizontal, maybe under the floor, is pretty common. If you have slow draining, somebody should snake the line down through that top port or remove your trap, and snake down from there.

I got a RIDGID PowerSpin Plus.
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I powered it with a drill.

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.

If you entered the top port, and aimed down, you could run water while the snake is going. Just don't run water fast enough to leak much out of the port you are snaking through.

Or have somebody do this for you with a bigger snake. A hand snake may just push a small hole thru a clog, and the clog may not be taken out.
 
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JulieMcCoy

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Reach4, thanks for the further advice. Before I get someone in to snake (condo, so no roof or outside water access for me), could a clog be responsible for slow draining before the reno and then suddenly NO draining? Or is there also something wrong with the way I set up the pipes?
 

Reach4

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Reach4, thanks for the further advice. Before I get someone in to snake (condo, so no roof or outside water access for me), could a clog be responsible for slow draining before the reno and then suddenly NO draining? Or is there also something wrong with the way I set up the pipes?
A clog can be responsible for slow draining, and then pick up more solids to plug the rest of the way. A garbage disposal is a way to add solids, and that Badger will add larger solids than the more premium Evolution models.

I presume, as you do, that those two wall places connect together with a vertical pipe.

So by all means cleaning (AKA rodding) from your wall down is called for to treat the stoppage. I hope they use a powered unit.

If they snake down thru the top port, that water I mentioned would come from the kitchen faucet, thru the disposal, thru the trap, and join the snake in the pipe. If the person snakes through your trap adapter, then adding that water is not practical.
 

Mr tee

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Slow kitchen drains tend to have a buildup of sludge. When disconnected for a while that goop tends to dry out and become a more serious clog. Snaking the drain is the solution.
 
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