Need advice on a clogged drain.

[gismo]

Yesterday I foolishly dumped a couple pounds of white rice into the garbage disposal that I'd heated up in the microwave. I thought I'd run enough water to flush it through but apparently I was mistaken as the sink drain was almost completely plugged up (both sides of a double sink) when I tried to rinse some dishes a couple hours later. Water seemed to flow fairly freely between the two sinks despite the fact that each has it's own trap. I poured in a bottle of Drano "clog remover" and let it sit for half an hour but it had no effect. I pulled both traps this morning and found some rice in one but not enough to block it off. When I put it back together the drain was still plugged.

The sink is on an outside wall and there's a vent in the roof that's nearly above it. The drain runs into the wall behind the sink where it drops into the unfinished basement. It then turns 90 degrees (actually one 90 and two shallower angles to jog over to the side of a joist) and runs nearly horizontally about 15 feet and finally dumps into a large collector. I'm pretty sure the problem is in the horizontal section and/or in the 90 degree elbow that transitions from vertical to horizontal. The piping in the wall and basement looks like inch and a half PVC.

So should I buy or rent a snake and try to force it through after removing one of the traps again? I could also try another shot of drano and now that all the standing water is out of the traps it might actually reach the clog. I'm also wondering if drano will have any effect on rice and if there's something else that would work better.

 

[tonycondon]

i would think that would be a pretty easy job with a snake. get the rice ball broken up and it should go down the drain pretty easily.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

I've had great luck with filling drains with granular cleaner then pouring in a kettlefull of boiling water......requires protective clothing, faceware,extreme caution. Then, it might be snake time!

 

[EdFred]

Seal em up good, and use an air compressor!!

 

[ron22]

Yesterday I foolishly dumped a couple pounds of white rice into the garbage disposal

A couple of pounds?

I would remove the trap and try the snake myself.
I have a power snake I would loan you but we are on opposite side of the city. I am also going out of town for the night. If you want to wait until Thur we could posible work something out.

 

[wsuffa]

A couple of pounds?

I would remove the trap and try the snake myself.
I have a power snake I would loan you but we are on opposite side of the city. I am also going out of town for the night. If you want to wait until Thur we could posible work something out.

Agree. Rice (and pasta) can be almost as strong as Gorilla Glue...

I'd plan on using a snake. The clog is likely at or beyond the trap (assuming you have one). Do you have a disposal?

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Yesterday I foolishly dumped a couple pounds of white rice into the garbage disposal that I'd heated up in the microwave. I thought I'd run enough water to flush it through but apparently I was mistaken as the sink drain was almost completely plugged up

Hey! That's my wife's trick.

So should I buy or rent a snake and try to force it through after removing one of the traps again?

Yup. BTDT. Run it through, problem solved. If coming down through the vent is easier, that can work as well.

I could also try another shot of drano and now that all the standing water is out of the traps it might actually reach the clog.

Sounds like a bad idea - if it doesn't drain, you have to deal with the caustic drain cleaner in addition to the clog.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Seal em up good, and use an air compressor!!

I think a sawzall might be a bit safer. But perhaps less entertaining.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

I did have a recurring problem with one drain so I plumbed in a connection for a garden hose above the usual blockage site - "blow it out"!

 

[astanley]

Agree. Rice (and pasta) can be almost as strong as Gorilla Glue...

I'd plan on using a snake. The clog is likely at or beyond the trap (assuming you have one). Do you have a disposal?

Agree. Pop the trap and go at it. If that doesn't work, go backwards from the sanitary trap, which requires telling everyone in the house not to use anything that drains there. Ask me how I know

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[EdFred]

I think a sawzall might be a bit safer. But perhaps less entertaining.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

 

[sba55]

Sounds like a bad idea - if it doesn't drain, you have to deal with the caustic drain cleaner in addition to the clog.

Yes. I've made that mistake once. In my case, the problem was maybe half a pound of pasta, and they sealed pretty much watertight. The plumber told me that against popular belief, draino and similar products most likely won't help in situations like these.

I ended up having to take the trap apart. Luckily, it was all stuck there.

 

[vontresc]

Lance, I know this won't help you with the current issue, but you may want to consider a compost pile in the back yard for food waste instead of running it through the disposal.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Yes. I've made that mistake once. In my case, the problem was maybe half a pound of pasta, and they sealed pretty much watertight. The plumber told me that against popular belief, draino and similar products most likely won't help in situations like these.

I ended up having to take the trap apart. Luckily, it was all stuck there.

Agree with the plumber- the caustic reacts (slowly) with fat/grease to make soap and glycerin. It also partially dissolves protein (hair), but slowly. Rice and pasta are mostly starch and the caustic has a difficult time getting to the starch ball.

The best way to get this out is mechanically as others have described.

 

[wsuffa]

Agree. Pop the trap and go at it. If that doesn't work, go backwards from the sanitary trap, which requires telling everyone in the house not to use anything that drains there. Ask me how I know

Would that be like the story of my replacing one of the toilet drain pipes that went to a Y?

 

[B2Soar]

Still clogged up Lance? I have not actually done this but here is an easy thing to try. Google-rice. Click-rice in drain. Click-delete.

Ya, the devil made me do it.

Rick

 

[gismo]

Lance, I know this won't help you with the current issue, but you may want to consider a compost pile in the back yard for food waste instead of running it through the disposal.

I've composted before but have found it to much of a PITA and anyway, most of what goes down the sewer is just light scrapings from dinner dishes, pots, and pans, with an occasional refrigerator purge. In any case the rice was smoking hot at the time with some possibility that it was actually burning and the sink seemed like the safest choice.

 

[gismo]

Agree with the plumber- the caustic reacts (slowly) with fat/grease to make soap and glycerin. It also partially dissolves protein (hair), but slowly. Rice and pasta are mostly starch and the caustic has a difficult time getting to the starch ball.

The best way to get this out is mechanically as others have described.

Success! I bought a cheap snake from the hardware store and got it cleared. Now I've got to go back to the store and get a replacement for the downtube from the sink which won't seal anymore and the threads are stripped. It looks like the original plumber did a crappy job connecting this sink because there's no way to make the downtube vertical.

 

[MikePapa]

I'm surprised nobody offered the simplest solution. Just make sure you hold the stopper in the other side.

 

[mikea]

Speaking of drains, I have PVC pipes buried in the yard to drain the storm water from the downspouts. I know where 3 of the 4 go but the one in the front yard is clogged where the water overflows and runs down my driveway. Since it's at the end of my carport and thus not near the foundation I figure it's not a critical deal.

I can't figure out where the open end is. I tried runiing a lame-a* fish wire down it with no success.

I need one of those camera/tracer deals but it's not like it's worth $5000 to me Is there a tracing system that can be rented for cheap?

When I get a round tuit I'll call the original home owner to see if she knows where it goes.

 

[gkainz]

most all plumbing companies have cameras now ... around $125 service call to scope out a drain around here, IIRC

 

[gismo]

I'm surprised nobody offered the simplest solution. Just make sure you hold the stopper in the other side.

I was able to apply some pressure with the disposal but that didn't help because there's a vent behind the sink that relieves the pressure. I suppose I could have plugged the vent but that would involve climbing on top of a 3 story steep roof and then there's always the danger that some pipe joint would let go inside a wall.

 

[wsuffa]

Speaking of drains, I have PVC pipes buried in the yard to drain the storm water from the downspouts. I know where 3 of the 4 go but the one in the front yard is clogged where the water overflows and runs down my driveway. Since it's at the end of my carport and thus not near the foundation I figure it's not a critical deal.

I can't figure out where the open end is. I tried runiing a lame-a* fish wire down it with no success.

I need one of those camera/tracer deals but it's not like it's worth $5000 to me Is there a tracing system that can be rented for cheap?

When I get a round tuit I'll call the original home owner to see if she knows where it goes.

Sounds like you need ground penetrating radar.

Bet you could get that done for you if you called the local cops and told 'em theres a body buried back there but you're not sure where...

 

[MikePapa]

I was able to apply some pressure with the disposal but that didn't help because there's a vent behind the sink that relieves the pressure. I suppose I could have plugged the vent but that would involve climbing on top of a 3 story steep roof and then there's always the danger that some pipe joint would let go inside a wall.

If the clog is past the vent, then the plunger isn't going to help. Usually the clog is before the vent, so the plunger is my first line of attack. For a while, I was getting clogs all the time, most likely due to grease buildup. I would fill the sink with boiling water from a big pot and plunge it, which worked very well. Then I started running a teakettle full of boiling water down the sink once a week or so and eventually the problems stopped.

 

[mikea]

most all plumbing companies have cameras now ... around $125 service call to scope out a drain around here, IIRC

For $125 I'll dig and follow it.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Sounds like you need ground penetrating radar.

Bet you could get that done for you if you called the local cops and told 'em theres a body buried back there but you're not sure where...

I heard that is where Jimmy Hoffa ended up...