Kitchen sink mystery blockage

[Redyellowblue]

Hello, this is my first post..

My kitchen sink is strangely and completely blocked. In an attempt to clear the blockage my friend and I (we are both not plumbers) have done the following:

1. Taken the bottom off the bottle trap and cleaned it. After reassembling the bottle trap we poured water into the outlet to see if the blockage was clear but the water backed up after pouring in scarcely enough water to even fill the trap.

2. Using a length of wire cable we poked through from the bottle trap across to the downpipe. We also removed a screw-on blank at the end of the main drain below the sink, and poked wire through approx four feet down the pipe, removing a lot of sludge. This too did not remove the blockage.

We noted the following which may or may not be relevant:

The washing machine outlet which also joins the drain behind the sink does not appear to have been affected by the current problem, because when we undid the blank there was no water rushing out of the washing machine outlet.

At some point the horizontal drain away from the sink has become detached from it's clip (which at some point broke). This has resulted in a zero or negative gradient away from the sink, creating an accumulation of water and waste gunk..some of which we've cleared. My landlords will send an engineer / plumber to re-attached this pipe next week, but so far says that the current blockage is not their responsibility.

Does any one have any ideas to where this blockage might be..?

Many thanks,

Redyellowblue

 

[Ch4 plumbing]

Have you poured any meat juices or fat down the sink? This is a fairly regular problem around Christmas.

 

[kris]

Hi there colours , could the blockage be stopping the water from coming out the wm outlet ? Chances are it's the pipe with no gradient that's blocked and that would need cut , cleaned and re attached, good luck, and welcome to the forum,

 

[kris]

I wouldn't have any faith in things like Mr muscles etc either as if it's solids then need removing, the trap u dismantled totally clear ?

 

[Redyellowblue]

Have you poured any meat juices or fat down the sink? This is a fairly regular problem around Christmas.

No, but thank you for replying,

Happy New Year,

Reyellowblue

 

[jase158]

Boiling water down waste couple times should remove it for now. Then get it replaced as will keep blocking.

 

[Redyellowblue]

Hi there colours , could the blockage be stopping the water from coming out the wm outlet ? Chances are it's the pipe with no gradient that's blocked and that would need cut , cleaned and re attached, good luck, and welcome to the forum,

Thanks Kris,

You may well be right, however I am still mystified as to why only a very small amount of water came out of the blank, and also why so very little water went into the trap before it backed up again after cleaning.

I am assuming 'wm' means waste main.

FYI I live in a block of flats on the fourth floor.


Regards and happy New Year,

Redyellowblue

 

[Redyellowblue]

I wouldn't have any faith in things like Mr muscles etc either as if it's solids then need removing, the trap u dismantled totally clear ?

Hi again Kris,

Thanks for that good advice.

Yes, the trap we dismantled is totally clear. This is why it is such a mystery to me.

Best,

Redyellowblue

 

[Redyellowblue]

Boiling water down waste couple times should remove it for now. Then get it replaced as will keep blocking.

Hi Jase158,

Thank you very much for your reply...i will try pouring a kettle of boiling water down the plughole and see if it removes the blockage for now..thanks so much for that.

When you say it should be replaced, do you mean the trap or something else?

Kindest regards and a happy New Year to you,

Redyellowblue

 

[PlumbBobBob]

"wm" is washing machine not waste main

 

[jase158]

The pipe work, as far as possible!!

 

[Ch4 plumbing]

If it is indeed a bottle trap (which are not the best type of trap for a kitchen sink) then take it apart again and make sure the pipe part inside hasn't slipped and is touching the bottom of the "bottle".

 

[Dotty]

CH is on the money here. I've often had to cut half an inch off the bottom of the inner tube because the manufacturers make them too long.

 

[jaydebruyne]

I'm with CH4, bottle traps aren't great for kitchen sinks. Once you've cleared the blockage I'd change it with a P trap. Have you tried a plunger? Depending on how bad/deep the blockage is it might move it. I usually stick my wetvac on it which clears 95% of them.

 

[CXR100]

strangely I visit a lot of homes to do this and when I walk in with a plunger they tell me "I've tried that" but what they don't do is block the overflow with a damp cloth! so what they are doing is having no affect at all!! love to see their faces when I unblock it in like 20 seconds!!!!

 

[Redyellowblue]

Boiling water down waste couple times should remove it for now. Then get it replaced as will keep blocking.

Hi jase158,

thank you very much..we took your advice a couple of days ago , and poured boiling water down the plug hole, and it worked! We also stuffed the outlet with wet kitchen paper (rag, I'm sure, is best, but didn't have any to hand) which I'm sure made a difference. Also, my friend bought a bigger plunger (the previous one broke after so many plungings) and we think that may have made a difference too. So many thanks to you and everyone who has responded.

Now I'm wondering if it's safe to use the washing machine, or if there may still be trouble lurking in the horizontal pipe (which currently has a negative gradient) which i referred to in my first post. Kris made a comment regarding the wm so I will reread his comment and come back to him. If you or any one has any thoughts on this matter i would appreciate it very much.

All best wishes!

 

[Redyellowblue]

"wm" is washing machine not waste main

Thanks very much steveb. The devil is in the detail .

 

[Redyellowblue]

Hi there colours , could the blockage be stopping the water from coming out the wm outlet ? Chances are it's the pipe with no gradient that's blocked and that would need cut , cleaned and re attached, good luck, and welcome to the forum,

Hi kris,

thanks very much..now i understand 'wm' is washing machine, not waste main.

As of a couple of days ago the blockage in the kitchen sink is now clear (thanks jase158 and all responders!). We poured boiling water down the plug hole, stuffed the outlet with damp kitchen paper and used a bigger plunger. As we did this I heard water gurgling in the washing machine pipework. It sounded good, like something had cleared there. However i don't feel confident starting the washing machine just yet as I remembered your helpful comment regarding the pipe with no gradient.... So I am thinking I should be patient and let the engineer / plumber see to this pipe when they visit on the 9th before using the wm again.

This is a great forum and I'm learning a lot.

best wishes,

redyellowblue

 

[Redyellowblue]

If it is indeed a bottle trap (which are not the best type of trap for a kitchen sink) then take it apart again and make sure the pipe part inside hasn't slipped and is touching the bottom of the "bottle".

thanks ch4...good advice. My friend wondered if the pipe part inside had slipped. We'll check that in a couple of days. And he agreed that the bottle trap was not good for the kitchen. I'll look into that and may get it changed to a different type.

All the best and thanks very much for that,

redyellowblue

 

[Redyellowblue]

CH is on the money here. I've often had to cut half an inch off the bottom of the inner tube because the manufacturers make them too long.

Yup..we'll be checking the inner tube, will let you know what we find.

Best wishes,

redyellowblue

 

[Redyellowblue]

I'm with CH4, bottle traps aren't great for kitchen sinks. Once you've cleared the blockage I'd change it with a P trap. Have you tried a plunger? Depending on how bad/deep the blockage is it might move it. I usually stick my wetvac on it which clears 95% of them.

Hello jaydebruyne,

thanks very much for your reply. On your advice I will probably look into changing it to a p trap!

The blockage is now clear. Yes we used a plunger, but a bigger one this time and stuffed up the outlet too.

Best wishes,

Redyellowblue

 

[Redyellowblue]

strangely I visit a lot of homes to do this and when I walk in with a plunger they tell me "I've tried that" but what they don't do is block the overflow with a damp cloth! so what they are doing is having no affect at all!! love to see their faces when I unblock it in like 20 seconds!!!!

Hi CXR100,

.....SO RIGHT!!!

I proposed doing this before but my friend thought it would make no difference...BUT IT DID )!

Best wishes

 

[jaydebruyne]

Hi CXR100,

.....SO RIGHT!!!

I proposed doing this before but my friend thought it would make no difference...BUT IT DID )!

Best wishes

Hurrah for the mighty plunger. Sometimes simple is best!

 

[CXR100]

it will never work without doing this in my opinion , the force you are pushing down with the plunger just comes back up thru the overflow, glad to be of help.