I have a drinking fountain with a plugged drain, no flow at all. I took the trap apart, and it was open. The drain starts as chromed brass a little over 1'' OD. Where it goes into the wall, it is 1'' or 1 1/4'' galvanized with a compression fitting for the chrome pipe. I managed to get the snake I have through the last bend in the trap, but not much beyond the wall. I didn't get the last section of trap loose from the pipe in the wall. Several other drains close by, 2 restrooms plus a capped off sink on the floor above. The other drains run fairly well, so the clog must be close to the fountain. Long complex route down from the roof vent. Plunging did nothing.

What next? I don't have much a snake. It is a steel spring with a little fatter spring on the end. The end is a larger spring, and not very flexible. I have never used it much, but when I have, I haven't had much luck getting it past bends. With a little more effort, I could get the last trap section out and then force the snake through the next bend. Would even removing that end make it work better? Should I rent a power snake, call Roto Router?

Drinking fountain in your house? Sometimes I have had luck with an enzyme pipe cleaner. If I was doing it myself I would take the fountain out and snake the pipe in the wall directly. If I still had a blockage at that point I would call roto-rooter (by the time I rented a machine and got it to my place it wouldn't be worth it)

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Originally Posted by labman

I have a drinking fountain with a plugged drain, no flow at all. I took the trap apart, and it was open. The drain starts as chromed brass a little over 1'' OD. Where it goes into the wall, it is 1'' or 1 1/4'' galvanized with a compression fitting for the chrome pipe. I managed to get the snake I have through the last bend in the trap, but not much beyond the wall. I didn't get the last section of trap loose from the pipe in the wall. Several other drains close by, 2 restrooms plus a capped off sink on the floor above. The other drains run fairly well, so the clog must be close to the fountain. Long complex route down from the roof vent. Plunging did nothing.

What next? I don't have much a snake. It is a steel spring with a little fatter spring on the end. The end is a larger spring, and not very flexible. I have never used it much, but when I have, I haven't had much luck getting it past bends. With a little more effort, I could get the last trap section out and then force the snake through the next bend. Would even removing that end make it work better? Should I rent a power snake, call Roto Router?

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Hey ,

The clog is in the lateral,(horzontal) line in the wall leading to the vent stack so going down the roof vent wouldn't touch it. If what you have is a small snake with a auger tip and you have a problem negotiating the bend simply reverse the snake and use the small end. There should only be one 90 in the wall and 5" or less lateral to snake out. Good luck. Tom

Got back to my drinking fountain drain today. Reversing my snake didn't work. Neither did the 1/4'' steel cable I tried. I went and rented an augur, not power, but like them, except a crank in place of the motor. Still couldn't get past the second 90. I trashed both of them, but I got the wall pipe and the 1 1/4'' short nipple it went into out. Looks like it screwed into a *&^%#$%^*&^$% pressure Tee. With a desperate effort, I managed to get the auger past likely a *&^%#$%^*&^$% pressure ell under the floor, and then likely into the 4'' or 6'' main drain. I can see where there is a clean out under the tile floor. Likely that is the main drain. Think I have got it, but ran out of time. The auger was $21. As much as I like their good work, Roto Router likely would have to have $50 to walk in the door.

When I returned the auger to Home Depot, the wall pipes they had wouldn't fit into the rest of the trap. The joys of working on a 50 year old building. I will try the hardware store.