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Out of context: Reply #73693
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- Continuity7
Well, punches for me.
Having been immensely proud of myself for finally having grown up and bought a plumber's snake to deal with the kitchen sink, I uncoiled it and got stuck in.
Or so I thought.
The motherfucking snake didn't fit down the motherfucking drain, no matter how I tried to coax it in. It just wouldn't go.
So, I thought a bit, and thought I would drain the pipe through the clean-out into a stock pot, and stick the snake in that way.
Already congratulating myself for my cleverness, I squatted down, opened the cabinet door, readied my pot under the clean-out, and twisted the thing open.
There are two things I didn't account for or predict, however:
1) The pressure of the water coming out, and;
2) The sheer volume of water trapped in there and in the sink.It took no time at all for the pot to get full to overflowing, and — since I was holding the thing two-handed because it was so heavy, I couldn't twist the clean-out cap back in place to empty the pot and continue.
And, so, there we have it:
Ladies and gentlemen, like the plonker that he is, Continuity flooded his kitchen.
Greasy, foul, chemical-laced water covering floor, and the floor of cabinet under the sink.
I've just spent the last 1.25 hours — and EIGHT rolls of kitchen paper — getting that shit cleaned up, then mopping.
And my sink *still* isn't unclogged.
I tried with my initial snake-through-the-clean-out idea, and there was nothing for it. It simply sould make the hard Z-like angles of the pipe.
So, now I've emptied an entire litre of unclogging gel into the drain about an hour ago. Slowly, but surely, the level is going down.
I needed this like I needed a hole in the head.
And I think I can speak with absolute, unequivocal confidence when I say that I'd rather staple my bag to my leg before even considering plumbing as my vocational exit strategy from advertising.
- Thing about blockages - don't keep the pressure pushing towards the blockage -you're just compacting it and making it firm, harder and more ingrained.shapesalad
- You need a sucking pressure to bring the detritus back out, allowing water to seep through and with natural gravity/water pressure, the block clears out.shapesalad
- This happens with my toilet in old building, if it blocks, a rapid up/down motion with toilet brush, creates a sucking pressure, loosens stools enough toshapesalad
- get the water flowing and carry the blockage (now loosened up) out.shapesalad
- I'd initially tried that with my plunger, the problem being that I couldn't get any pressure at all because of the secondary drain at the back-top of the sink.Continuity
- for next time, you either stuff a wet cloth into the secondary drain or get someone to hold half a tennis ball over it while you pump at the firstdee-dubs
- BTW an enjoyable read... 9/10, thank you!dee-dubs
- yeah seal up the 2nd drains.shapesalad
- It's only been two hours, so I won't laugh yet. But um.. this sounds like you unhooked an S-Trap under pressure.garbage
- Please tell me that your bathroom and kitchen lines aren't linked.garbage
- Oh dear god, no. They're wholly independent from each other.Continuity
- Get a professional in. Had a similar thing. The plumber openly laughed at me after explaining how I thought I could fix it with gel. Apparently its uselessthumb_screws
- Fantastic read AND experience @Continuity AAANNNDDD (sh)it happens brother.ideaist
- Oh thank god. Two follow-up questions: Do you own or rent, and what kind of pipes do you have?garbage
- Rent. And the pipes under the sink are PVC. I've since had a good look, and the problem isn't in those pipes, it's in the piping behind the wall.Continuity
- Managed to disconnect from the wall, and ran water through the PVC pipe. So, tomorrow, I'll shove the snake in the wall pipe, and see if that helps.Continuity
- Because if you own it, Draino and the like don't do much more than destroy your pipes in the long term.garbage
- If you have metal pipes, dump a few gallons of boiling water down the drain, and get in there with a drain auger brush with a power drill.garbage
- Wouldn't be able to tell you if it's metal or PVC behind that wall, they're behind the plasterwork. So hey ... this should be fun!Continuity
- So, after your first post when you implied you might attempt to fix this, I wanted to tell you to call a plumber for this exact reason.monospaced
- But I'm not sure you would have gone that route regardless. Sorry to hear this happened, maybe you'll call a pro now to fix this.monospaced
- Oh I'm along for this ride. Draino will be the owner's problem a few decades down the road, but a boil rinse will be your problem now, so scratch that.garbage
- Pics!garbage
- You might have something plugging your vent pipe on your roof. Often they can get debris or an animal stuck in them and prevent sinks draining/slow draining.monNom
- If you don’t mind going on the roof you could inspect, or you could run your snake (maybe) up the pipe in an attempt to dislodge the plug.monNom
- But honestly, just call a plumber. Usually 10 things go wrong fixing the 1 thing with plumbing. Especially old plumbing. Save your heart. Pay a pro.monNom
- Discretion is the better part of valormonNom
- entertaining lunchbreak read, thanks for sharing, sorry about the filthy kitchen! :)BuddhaHat
- This is my nightmare. I have hardwood floors which i installed myselfdrgs
- Thankfully, I've got tile in the kitchen.Continuity
- Fuck the pros! If you have a hose that can reach, a Drain King is maybe 20 bucks. You've already gotten your hands dirty, might as well see it to fruition.garbage
- I'm non-sarcastically on the edge of my seat, #teamcontinuity.garbage
- Haha! garbage, I'll try not to disappoint. I'm gonna get stuck in this afternoon, to see what I can manage.Continuity
- Call a pro ffs.monospaced
- Godspeed! And plumbers are for pussies, you will conquer the clog!Gnash