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One common plumbing problem that
often occurs at the most incovenient of times is a clogged drain.
Many home owners are tempted to reach for a bottle of their
favorite drain cleaner - they are easy to use,
supposed to be quick, and you don't have to get your hands dirty.
The problem with quick fixes - as with many things in life - is
that the quick fix may not be the best.
Most drain cleaners these days will not damage
your plumbing when properly used. The key is to
make sure that you use them properly. If your home has a septic
system, make sure that any cleaner specifies it is safe for use in
septic systems. Different types of drain clog removers may target
different types of problems and have different instructions, make
sure you follow them to get the maximum effectiveness.
Sometimes a liquid cleaner will not be enough to take care of the
problem. A number of years ago we received a lesson in what not to
put down your food disposal - cantelope rinds. The disposal had no
problem grinding them up, but a few feet down the drain they
re-assembled into am impassable clog.
The first attemps was the faithful old plunger. A plunger works on
the concept of hydralic pressure (simply put, you cannot compress a
liquid) to move the blockage. The problem with this approach in a
kitchen or bathroom sink is that the drain may not be the only
outlet - there are often multiple drains and/or overflow
connections which make a plunger useless in these cases
The next step was to try and remove the sink trap. Once you get to
this phase, you need to make sure you have a bucket and a few
towels handy. If you had previously attempted to clear the clog
using a chemical drain cleaner you need to be
careful here as there may still be residew in the sink, pipes, or
trap. Before removing the trap, make sure to drain as much of the
sink water as you can.
Place the bucket under the trap and loosen the connection to the
portion of the pipe leading down from the sink to the trap. By
opening the down facing segment of the pipe first you should be
able to confine the draining water to the bucket - if you remove
the horizontal portion first you are likely to make quite a mess as
the water drains in that direction. If the remainder of the water
drains from the sink, you know your clog if further down the line.
If the water does not drain, then you need to check the segment
between the trap and the sink for obstruction. Usually a
screwdriver or length of bent clothes hanger is sufficient to check
and clear any blockages found.
Next check to see if there are any obstructions in the removed
trap. Either take it to another sink and see if water flows through
it unobstructed or use a length of clothes hanger to probe for (and
remove) any blockage. If you found something blocking the trap, you
should be all set. Re-install the trap and run the water. If you
found no obstruction, it is time to search further.
So the sink and the trap are clear, what next? ......(Continue)
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