Hi all, my name is Michele and I have a kitchen drain problem. We have a double kitchen sink which has consistent problems with slow draining. We have had it professionally snaked twice (once just last Friday) and after Friday's snaking it worked for the day and then started slow draining again on Saturday. The plumber said he "hit something" about 50' down and ran the snake through twice to clear it. As I said, the next day it was slow draining again. Another two hundred bucks down the drain, so to speak.

We have tried numerous enzymes and self-snaking (not successfully). We are so paranoid about getting a major clog we rarely throw anything down the disposal at all. It does seem when the disposal is running it almost creates a vacuum and pulls the water up into the unit and the other sink. My husband thinks I'm crazy but that's the pattern I see (or possibly imagine).

We did try an experiment last week and closed off (stoppered) the non-disposal sink and with the disposal running poured down about 3 quarts of water into the disposal. The water did all go down quite quickly.

We've been researching everything we can but to no avail. Nothing else in our bi-level house backs up or is a slow drainer. Just the evil kitchen sink. Any suggestions? Maybe a stick of dynamite down the pipes?:)

"we rarely throw anything down the disposal at all. It does seem when the disposal is running it almost creates a vacuum and pulls the water up into the unit and the other sink. My husband thinks I'm crazy but that's the pattern I see (or possibly imagine).
You are entirely correct. the table of the disposal acts like a centrifugal pump when it's turning. (Wife*one, husband*zero)

I see where the plumber "hit something 50 feet down". Down from what?
Where was he snaking from? Your house must be huge if it takes the kitchen drain line 50 feet to get into the main. Please explain.
Also I see reference to snaking out the drain but not the vent. Did he snake out the vent from the roof? Over to you. Regards, Tom

"we rarely throw anything down the disposal at all. It does seem when the disposal is running it almost creates a vacuum and pulls the water up into the unit and the other sink. My husband thinks I'm crazy but that's the pattern I see (or possibly imagine).
You are entirely correct. the table of the disposal acts like a centrifugal pump when it's turning. (Wife*one, husband*zero)

I see where the plumber "hit something 50 feet down". Down from what?
Where was he snaking from? Your house must be huge if it takes the kitchen drain line 50 feet to get into the main. Please explain.
Also I see reference to snaking out the drain but not the vent. Did he snake out the vent from the roof? Over to you. Regards, Tom


Hi Tom, plumber went 50 feet from the kitchen sink drain and down. He did not snake the vent from the roof. I've read various opinions on the roof vent option some good, some bad. This morning we poured about 12 quarts of boiling water down (at intervals) and tried plunging the hell out of it. Status is still the same. Yesterday we whipped out the Drain King and gave that a shot. We did find some thick "gooey" junk that "backwashed" up. Could be the enzyme residue? I'm imaging the pipe insides are tiny outlets covered with a thick layer of grease. At least that's my novice guess. Please let me know the benefits of snaking the roof vent. Thanks! Michele

Your plumber snaked from inside the sink cabinet? If not from the cabinet then where? I need to know. Regards, Tom

I believe he removed the kitchen sink p-trap and snaked down through the larger pipe that runs vertically through the wall.

I believe he removed the kitchen sink p-trap and snaked down through the larger pipe that runs vertically through the wall.
Your plumber failed to snake from the right spot. All he did was to go into the lateral behind the wall. This pipe runs 5 feet into a sanitary tee. From there it's a crapshoot whether the snake goes up out of the roof or down into the drain. Since you still have a problem I can only assume the snake went up instead of down. To insure snaking the drain line the line MUST be snaked from the roof vent.
You state, " I've read various opinions on the roof vent option some good, some bad."
I'd really like to see the bad reports you've read about snaking from the roof vent. In over 50 years out in the field I've never found a better way to get to the drain line of a fixture. You can go through the trap, as your plumber did, but all that guarantees id that the lateral inside the wall will be cleared but not the main drain. Call the plumber back and have him do the job right at his expense. Good luck, Tom,