[jackofall786]

Just replaced the kitchen sink last week. New sink is a little bit deeper so I had to replace the pipe work. It worked fine but since last night, surge of water was coming into sink. Looks like upstairs apartment have either dish washer or washing machine. Up stair guy is not accepting that he has the both. What could be the reason and how can I fix it? Thanks:mad:

[letmetellu]

If you have a second floor above you and it is not your washing machine that is coming up into your sink it almost has to be coming from the second floor or higher if you live in a multi story unit.

If it is coming from the second story, that does not mean it has to be him if there are more than one apartment or what ever above you. It could be anyone on the second floor or above.

[jackofall786]

It is coop. There is only one apartment above this one. Any way, what is the fix?
May be it is clogged? I will try Draino or PEQUA.:confused:

[massplumber2008]

Hey jackofall...

Are washing machine and/or dishwashers allowed in your coop? If not then you need to investigate this as it may be that the kitchen sink drain pipe is simply to small to handle the discharge from a washing machine and dishwasher at the same time...

Otherwise, sounds like the drain is clogged. You can try filling the sink with 3" of water and then try to PLUNGE the drain using a plunger.. see if that helps here.

Best case will be to go to a tool rental store and rent a small electric drain machine (see picture). You will also want to purchase a pair of safety glasses and leather gloves. Then snake the drain pipe... be careful as the snake can go vertical almost as often as it can go downward. If possible have someone at the floor below you to confirm (by hearing it) that it is going down... then snake the drain another 10-15 feet and see if that helped.

Repeat this a few times, then fill sink with hot water and FLUSH the drain pipes clean.

If this doesn't fix the drain issue at the sink... like I said at the beginning then it may simply be that the pipes are not large enough to handle the volume being sent down the drain.

My bet is that the drain is plugged.

Let me know what you think...

MARK

[jackofall786]

Thanks massplumber2008. It was a success! Snake did it. :D

[massplumber2008]

Glad that worked!

Thank you for updating us... ;)

MARK

[letmetellu]

Hey jackofall...

Are washing machine and/or dishwashers allowed in your coop?? If not then you need to investigate this as it may be that the kitchen sink drain pipe is simply to small to handle the discharge from a washing machine and dishwasher at the same time...

Otherwise, sounds like the drain is clogged. You can try filling the sink with 3" of water and then try to PLUNGE the drain using a plunger..see if that helps here.

Best case will be to go to a tool rental store and rent a small electric drain machine (see picture). You will also want to purchase a pair of safety glasses and leather gloves. Then snake the drain pipe...be careful as the snake can go vertical almost as often as it can go downward. If possible have someone at the floor below you to confirm (by hearing it) that it is going down...then snake the drain another 10-15 feet and see if that helped.

Repeat this a few times, then fill sink with hot water and FLUSH the drain pipes clean.

If this doesn't fix the drain issue at the sink...like I said at the beginning then it may simply be that the pipes are not large enough to handle the volume being sent down the drain.

My bet is that the drain is plugged.

Let me know what you think...

MARK

I did not get to finish my rating of your answer so don't think I was suggesting something was wrong with your answer, I just wanted to know if in your area do you have lines that are as long as I said. I have a General Jr. drain cleaning machine and I ddon't buy anything less that 100ft 3/8 inch cable to carry up on the roof, because most of the drain lines are at least 50 feet. Thanks I just wanted to ask.

[massplumber2008]

Hi all...

Hey Letmetellu... In my area we have all kinds of distances just like you do. I guess the 10-15 foot rule has just developed here more as a starting distance for people more than anything. Note that in the above post I advised cleaning the drain from the first floor sink and then snake out an additional 10-15 feet. This would work in most cases to unclog a simple blockage. After that distance the person would need to go into basement and look for cleanouts down there.

Heck, in my area most pipes are still cast iron piping especially underground and there is just no way that a snake would do much to clear some of the drains unless we work it really hard with both cable work AND hot water flushing combined. In fact, most of the buildings around my area are older two story homes with pitched roofs that if you even tried to get on with a machine in hand you would certainly fall to your death! Here, we snake most drains from inside home using drop head snakes and we have tons of cleanouts or we add them as needed.

We start with generic advice and then if someone can't clear the drain using basics we get into details like we just did... :)



I appreciate the question... and the rating!

MARK