I have a Ranch on a basement built circa 1960. The house was completely gutted (new kitchen cabinets and appliances and all new bathrooms.. . hardwood refinished upstairs and re-sealed and the downstairs basement was re-finished as well) and remodeled inside before we bought it. After living in the house a while we noticed the downstairs sink takes about twice as long to drain as other drains in the house. So I took the trap apart and the stopper out thinking I would find a clog. It was totally clear. At this point I am stumped. The upstairs tub drains slow as well--but not as slow as the downstairs sink. All the other drains in the house and the toilets seem fine.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance!

An answer I read here reminded me of an incident in my life... for your case, try running a garden hose to the slow drains... insert the end into the drain, pack rags or something around it, hold the packing with your hand... and run the water through the hose.

When I was 22 in Vietnam, I did the same thing to clear a floor drain in a mess hall... only I used a CO2 fire extinguisher. The floor was under about 2 inches of water, and the mess sargent was standing by an adjacent floor drain. When I cut loose, water sprayed out of the adjacent drain and drenched him completely... he was not a happy man...

Be careful... Good luck...

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Originally Posted by rsain2004

An answer I read here reminded me of an incident in my life...for your case, try running a garden hose to the slow drains...insert the end into the drain, pack rags or something around it, hold the packing with your hand...and run the water through the hose.

When I was 22 in Vietnam, I did the same thing to clear a floor drain in a mess hall...only I used a CO2 fire extinguisher. The floor was under about 2 inches of water, and the mess sargent was standing by an adjacent floor drain. When I cut loose, water sprayed out of the adjacent drain and drenched him completely...he was not a happy man...

Be careful...Good luck...

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So you're thinking I've got a clog in the mainline somewhere?

Piping sags, sinks in the ground and forms "low spots" that reduce flow. "Grey water" forms "build-up" inside pipes, and does other things... In an older system, things may not be the same as when new... Use a torpedo level to check slope, gently probe with a snake or water... check the system as best you can, before spending money... chances are it's something simple and related to the structures' age. Find all the system vents and be sure they are clear. Don't do an aggressive thing like I did, it only makes things worse.

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I took the trap apart and the stopper out thinking I would find a clog. It was totally clear. At this point I am stumped. The upstairs tub drains slow as well--but not as slow as the downstairs sink.

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You had the right idea, you just didn't take it far enough. You'll find most sinks clog up in the horizontal drain inside the wall with grease and food particals. Take the trap apart again and send a snake up into the wall,(see image) you will hit a bend about 8 inches in but once around that you only have 5 more feet of cable to put out. After, flush with a tub of hot water.

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The upstairs tub drains slow as well--

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Now on to your tub.
Most tub clogs are rotting hair matted with grease from the soap. Take your snake and Unscrew and remove the overflow plate,(The one with the drain lever) and pull out the tub stopper.(see image) You now have a clear shot at the trap. Now feed the cable( 1/4" best or 3/3" with a small tip. You can rent a Ridgid K50 sink cable if you wish.) About 2' down you will run into the bend of the trap. Crank and push at the same time to work around it. Your blockage will be found in the lateral pipe going to the stack. You shouldn't have to put out more then 10 or 12 feet. I have found tub and shower clogs to be mostly hair and the worm should auger into it and pull it back. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my reply. TOM

Just like Tom said: it is a localized clog. Clean each drain separately with snake as per Tom's instructions and you should be fine.

Drains should be cleaned periodically. It pays off to call Roto-Rooter service once every other year as a preventive measure.