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Kojak · Sep 18, 2005, 09:07 AM

Our upstairs bathroom sink began draining slowly and finally stopped all together. We plunged the sink and a lot of dirty water/sludge came up. However, now the sink is continuously filling with water (clean) from the drain. I have tried turning off the water to the house out at the meter and it has no affect on this. No other drains are having a problem and nothing is leaking. We have tried snaking the drain as well. We live in a neighborhood and are not on a spetic system. Any suggestions?

speedball1 · Sep 18, 2005, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by Kojak

Our upstairs bathroom sink began draining slowly and finally stopped all together. We plunged the sink and a lot of dirty water/sludge came up. However, now the sink is continuously filling with water (clean) from the drain. I have tried turning off the water to the house out at the meter and it has no affect on this. No other drains are having a problem and nothing is leaking. We have tried snaking the drain as well. We live in a neighborhood and are not on a spetic system. Any suggestions??

Hey Kojac,

You say," now the sink is continuously filling with water (clean) from the drain."
Do you mean the lavatory's backing up without you running any water in it? Lavatory clogs are generally caused by rotting hair mixed in with grease. They show up in the lateral,(horizontal) line located in the wall between the trap and the vent stack. To clear, you must take the trap apart and send a snake up the trap tail into the wall. About 6 to 8 inches in you'll hit a elbo, crank and push your way around it. The good news is that you will only about five more feet to go. After you put everything back together pour 1/2 gallon of bleack down the drain and let it set for a few hours. The take two large pans of boiling water and flush out the line. The bleach will start to desolve the hair and make it slippery and the boiling water will melt the grease and flush everything out to the main. Good luck. Tom

Kojak · Sep 18, 2005, 10:33 AM

Yes, the sink is filling without running watrer into it. We are wet vacing it out every few hours. We already ran a snake into it. I will try the bleach and water and see what happens. Thanks.

speedball1 · Sep 18, 2005, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by Kojak

Yes, the sink is filling without running watrer into it. We are wet vacing it out every few hours. We already ran a snake into it. I will try the bleach and water and see what happens. Thanks.

If you have clear water coming up from the drain then where's the water coming from? Is there another bathroom above? If not then I suppect the AC condensate drain is tied into the lavatory drain. When you snaked did you snake the length of the lateral line or just the trap? Because if you didn't go into the wall and at least six feet farther you haven't snaked at all.
Let me know, tom

Kojak · Sep 18, 2005, 12:51 PM

That's the problem. I can't figure out where the water is coming from. There is not another bathroom above this. I went up in the atic last night to check the ac and our water heater is up there. Everything is dry and the pans under both are dry. I have tried turning the water off to the entire house and releasing all the pressure off the lines. And the water continues to rise. If this were sewer back up wold it not affect the bath and kitchen downstairs first?

I tried the bleach, it has been sitting for about 2 hours and the sink is still filling. Should I vac it all out and the try theboiling water or try more bleach?

We snaked about 15 feet.

Thanks

speedball1 · Sep 18, 2005, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by Kojak

That's the problem. I can't figure out where the water is coming from. There is not another bathroom above this. I went up in the atic last night to check the ac and our water heater is up there. Everything is dry and the pans under both are dry. I have tried turning the water off to the entire house and releasing all the pressure off the lines. And the water continues to rise. If this were sewer back up wold it not affect the bath and kitchen downstairs first?

I tried the bleach, it has been sitting for about 2 hours and the sink is still filling. Should I vac it all out and the try theboiling water or try more bleach?

We snaked about 15 feet.

Thanks

I keep coming back to the AC condensate line. Did you open up the air handler and check under the fins? I know a lot of AC guys discharge the condensate line above the lavatory trap to a fitting called a branch tailpiece. It's not sewage because the water's clear. It's not from the water pipes because you shut the water off and checked and it's still filling. There's only one thing left that discharges clear water. Guess what? Tom