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My two sinks in the two adjoining bathroom got blocked. First I tried Drano but it didn't work. I removed the P trap and other connecting pipes all the way to the wall. I then snaked it . I could only got in about 18 inches only. So I bought a drill drain snake. Again I could only ran in about 18 inches. I don't believe the snake got into the other side of the adjoining bathroom sink. I could feel the snake got in about 8 inches either up or down the pipe from the pipe sticking out of the wall. Then I could go no further after another 10 inches. What's blocking it? I checked my drill drain snake and it could go through 5 sheets of paper easily. Please help!!!
My friend ran the snake into the metal vent. When he took out the snake there's nothing in the tip of the snake. He also snaked the 4" dia. vent and it went in 50'. He said the snake could not go in any more into the small vent pipe and said may be it's because of the straight boring head we used. He said may be we should use a side Cutter or Spear auger head. I checked the attic and found the two metal vents going up from my two back to back bathroom. My house is 55 years old and the drain pipes are made of metal.
My friend didn't wait to change to the other heads I mentioned. May be he's afraid to bore a big hole through the vent pipe. What do you think. The vent pipe are made of metal. Yes only two vent pipes going up the roof.
I checked the attic and found the two metal vents going up from my two back to back bathroom.
You should only have one vent that services both lavs. Does it come out the roof or does it tie back to another vent? Use a medium auger tip and you're not gonna bore through cast iron pipes. Good luck. Tom
You can snake back to back lav drains even with a san tee, but it takes some skill and two people. Take traps off of both sinks(remove complete trap assembly under both sinks untill the only thing left if the drain pipe that goes into the wall. Now you should be able to see straight through the cross fitting to the other side. Now you will need a couple of good flashlites, and a long screwdrive, and a lot of patience. Snake from one side while the other person watches from the other side with a lite and the screwdriver. As you slowly feed the snake in, the other person should be able to see it and use the screwdriver to get it started in the right direction. like i said, this can be time consuming, but it can be done, and will save you crawling in the attic and cutting vents(not to mention you have no idea whether the vent you are cutting is the right one). Now, if your sinks are not truly back to back and there is a 90 off of each sink drain before it hits the cross fitting, then this wont work, but if sinks are truly back to back, this is a great option to try. I wouldnt worry about boring a hole through the galvenized pipe, or cast iron pipe. If you do bore through it, it is just telling you that the pipe is in dire need of replacement anyways. Just get nasty with the auger you are using and push your way through the plug. Then, once you hit the plug and get through it, work snake back and forth at this point to open it up as much as possible. Good luck and please let us know how you fair. Lee
To snake the drain line the way Lee suggested there only one auger tip to use
(see image) and that's a swivel head bulb auger. The swivel will allow the tip to point down when it hits the vertical vent. Good luck, tom
We snaked the small vent pipe again with the sewage machine but could go no further than 16'. We snaked in again with the drill drain snake. With much difficulties it went all the way to the very end of the snake which is about 20'. I caught a little bit of hair. I tried several times again but the snake was all tangled up. May be I should buy a longer drill drain snake.
With much difficulties it went all the way to the very end of the snake which is about 20'.
You went down a roof vent, correct? How could you run into difficulty doing that. You have a 15' drop to the base and with 5 additional feet you're only 5 feet into the branch. Have you even located the vent stack in the attic that services your two lavatories? It sure doesn't sound like it. A 20foot snake going down a roof vent is useless. Get a longer snake. regards, tom
I opened the tail pipe of the P trap and found the pipe inside the wall doesn't go across to the adjoining sink but instead goes down 90 degree. No luck to try Lee's method. I will be using a drain opening bladder to force the clog down. Wish me luck.
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