The kitchen sink's gone slow again. We're sparing of the garbage disposal but it's a long drain with multiple bends (all but one are 45s, at least) and an air admittance valve instead of the usual vent. Running a dishwasher doesn't help and it's five years or more since the last repair. Hoping to coax it past the first of the year and if simple fixes (it's got a rubber slip fitting near the connection to the main stack) don't help, I'll get a plumber.
In the meantime, there were mushrooms left that I didn't fix for Christmas. It was about time to use them up, so I did: I'm feasting on bacon, eggs and mushrooms, with coffee and toast. On the toast, an occasional treat: orange marmalade! I like the sweeter versions -- yes, the "...with a name like...." brand and I picked up a loaf of white bread. (Should have looked for something better than "sandwich bread," which has become too much like cake to suit me; but oh well, it toasts okay.) Holiday indulgence!
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
5 comments:
When our sink starts to drain slow, we heat a pot of water (or fill in the bath tub - full hot water only) and run it through the drain. It usually 'degunkifies' any masses and helps with speed of draining.
If you haven't done this already, might want to try that and see if it helps.
Second the hot water.
I'm on a septic system and don't use normal drain cleaner. I tried a "green enzyme" cleaner (didn't work). Instructions said prep the system with hot water, it would make the enzymes work better. Cynical me wondered if the enzymes were useless, and the hot water actually did the work. Several buckets of VERY hot water later, drain ran free.
Ref, the food. A local sammich shop mails menu and has a pic on the front that sorta intrigues me. Short sub roll, with chunks of cooked meate beaste with sliced mushrooms and onion and some red bell pepper pieces. Haven't tried it, but at my age, the onion would be a no go, and I prefer green bell peper. The braised meate and mushroons in just the cooking juices (and probably a little veg oil) looks great, but possibly some melted swiss or extreme sharp vermont cheddar cheese.... Dang it, 0-dark thrity and I'm drooling.
You may want to temporarily turn up the temp on the water heater before you try using hot water to clear the drain.
Usually the hot water from the dishwasher would help?
Good luck. There is a reason I pay plumbers to do the dirty work.
If you get creative, you can use a plumber's snake on a kitchen sink drain. Often, you can't get them to make the 90* turn after the P-trap. If it's plastic, go to a hardware store and get a rubber joint for that size pipe. This connector has a hose clamp for each side. Hacksaw it a bit past the elbow, so there is sufficient pipe to fit the clamp. If it is iron, there is probably a threaded connection at the wall. Obtain a snake that will reach the main sewer line that exits the house. A 15-20 ft usually works.
BTW, the number one item I find in household drains is long hair. It works well to trap other stuff that goes down sink drains. Hair catches anything greasy, which further amplifies the stoppage effect. These grease balls stick to any protuberance, and not only directly cause slow flow problems, but catch objects that normally would pass through the pipes without effect.
One of the surprising sources of sink drain grease appears to be face/body makeup.
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