subject: Unblocking Drains And Diy Plumbing [print this page] It is pretty common for people to want to dig in to drains and plumbing when they first discover some type of a leak or problem. Even though there are some problems that can very easily be managed and corrected by the average home owner, there are many others that really do need to be tended to by a professional plumber instead. Did you know that blocked sink drains are the most common service calls that plumbers make? Tubs and showers can easily be snaked from above, but sink openings are designed to prevent objects from getting into the pipes including drain snakes. Even if cables fit, the drain traps make it hard to get the snake through. What is a home owner to do? Here are some tips to easily unclog your sink drains with some DIY plumbing.
First of all, you need to disconnect the p trap from under the sink. It is held together by friction washers and slip nuts. Make sure that you have a bucket under the trap to catch the water that will have remained in it. If it is chrome plated you will need a pipe wrench for the nuts. Look into the pipe to see if you see any obstructions. If you can not see anything, that means that the clog is further down the line, so you will have to take out 12 to 15 inches of cable out of the snake, and push it into your drain line for this part of the plumbing.
If you cant see into the T fitting, you can have another person listen in the wall while you crank the snake handle, because they will be able to hear if it is going up the vent or not. If it is going up the vent, pull the snake out a bit so that it goes down at the T fitting. See the screw that is in the handle of the snake? When you feel a clog, tighten that screw and push the cable forward while you crank the snake handle clockwise.
When you run out of cable, loosen the screw and pull another 12 15 inches of cable out, and continue the process until you have broken up the clog. You will know when the clog is cleared when you do not feel any more resistance on the cable. Be sure that you pay attention as you move through the pipes. If you find that you may have reached a larger diameter pipe, like the main stack and you think you may have pushed the clog into that pipe, instead of feeling it break up you will be able to feel the clog move freely around, in which case a push and pull method for pluming your drain should be used.
