[tennisyoung1]

My friend ran the snake into the metal vent. When he took out the snake there's nothing in the tip of the snake. He also snaked the 4" dia. Vent and it went in 50'. He said the snake could not go in any more into the small vent pipe and said may be it's because of the straight boring head we used. He said may be we should use a side Cutter or Spear auger head. I checked the attic and found the two metal vents going up from my two back to back bathroom. My house is 55 years old and the drain pipes are made of metal.

My friend didn't wait to change to the other heads I mentioned. May be he's afraid to bore a big hole through the vent pipe. What do you think. The vent pipe are made of metal. Yes only two vent pipes going up the roof.

[speedball1]

I checked the attic and found the two metal vents going up from my two back to back bathroom.

You should only have one vent that services both lavs. Does it come out the roof or does it tie back to another vent? Use a medium auger tip and you're not going to bore through cast iron pipes. Good luck. Tom

[mygirlsdad77]

You can snake back to back lav drains even with a san tee, but it takes some skill and two people. Take traps off both sinks(remove complete trap assembly under both sinks until the only thing left if the drain pipe that goes into the wall. Now you should be able to see straight through the cross fitting to the other side. Now you will need a couple of good flashlites, and a long screwdrive, and a lot of patience. Snake from one side while the other person watches from the other side with a lite and the screwdriver. As you slowly feed the snake in, the other person should be able to see it and use the screwdriver to get it started in the right direction. Like I said, this can be time consuming, but it can be done, and will save you crawling in the attic and cutting vents(not to mention you have no idea whether the vent you are cutting is the right one). Now, if your sinks are not truly back to back and there is a 90 off each sink drain before it hits the cross fitting, then this won't work, but if sinks are truly back to back, this is a great option to try. I wouldn't worry about boring a hole through the galvenized pipe, or cast iron pipe. If you do bore through it, it is just telling you that the pipe is in dire need of replacement anyway. Just get nasty with the auger you are using and push your way through the plug. Then, once you hit the plug and get through it, work snake back and forth at this point to open it up as much as possible. Good luck and please let us know how you fair. Lee

[speedball1]

To snake the drain line the way Lee suggested there only one auger tip to use
(see image) and that's a swivel head bulb auger. The swivel will allow the tip to point down when it hits the vertical vent. Good luck, tom

[tennisyoung1]

Thanks to you all. I'll snake it again.

[speedball1]

Let us know how that works. Good luck, tom

[hkstroud]

.. Too funny Harold! I only use explosives on the tough clogs. Thanks for the first chuckle of the day, Tom

[tennisyoung1]

We snaked the small vent pipe again with the sewage machine but could go no further than 16'. We snaked in again with the drill drain snake. With much difficulties it went all the way to the very end of the snake which is about 20'. I caught a little bit of hair. I tried several times again but the snake was all tangled up. May be I should buy a longer drill drain snake.

[speedball1]

With much difficulties it went all the way to the very end of the snake which is about 20'.

You went down a roof vent, correct? How could you run into difficulty doing that. You have a 15' drop to the base and with 5 additional feet you're only 5 feet into the branch. Have you even located the vent stack in the attic that services your two lavatories? It sure doesn't sound like it. A 20foot snake going down a roof vent is useless. Get a longer snake. Regards, tom

[tennisyoung1]

I opened the tail pipe of the P trap and found the pipe inside the wall doesn't go across to the adjoining sink but instead goes down 90 degree. No luck to try Lee's method. I will be using a drain opening bladder to force the clog down. Wish me luck.

[speedball1]

I will be using a drain opening bladder to force the clog down. Wish me luck.

And we do wish you luck. However, It that's a sanitary tee with a vent coming out of the top your bladder, Called a Drain King,(see image) will be useless, All the pressure will go up the vent and never reach the clog.
You best bet, in my estimation, would be to snake that line using a swivel head bulb auger as pictured in a earlier post. Good luck, Tom

[tennisyoung1]

Thanks. I tried yesterday to snake in with a swivel bulb head auger but with no success. We also went up the roof and snaked the vent again but with no luck. It sounded like a rock was blocking it . Any other option?

[speedball1]

We also went up the roof and snaked the vent again but with no luck. It sounded like a rock was blocking it . Any other option?

That "rock" or whatever might just be your problem. The way I see it you have two options open.
1) You can send a camera down to see what's blocking your snake **OR**
2) You can open up the floor and look for yourself.
Good luck, Tom

[tennisyoung1]

Thanks. Will it be okay if I connect the drain pipe to the clean-out for the main pipe and drain all waste water from the two sinks in there? I already opened the clean-out which is right next to the drain pipe.

[speedball1]

Thanks. Will it be okay if I connect the drain pipe to the clean-out for the main pipe and drain all waste water from the two sinks in there? I already opened the clean-out which is right next to the drain pipe.

Are you asking for a permanent or temporary connection? Tom

[tennisyoung1]

Assuming it's a permanent connection.

[speedball1]

Assuming it's a permanent connection.

Now I need a picture of what you propose. I want to know how you plan to connect to the cleanout. Regards, Tom

[tennisyoung1]

Just as you said I used the bladder method with no luck.I turned on the water full force for more than 15 minutes but I could only feel a little bit pressure. I noted that there's no water coming out of the vent. There's a lot of water going into the drain pipe. Where did all the water go if there's a clog? Is there a water overflow somewhere?

[mygirlsdad77]

How does the sink drain right now? Does it back up completely or does it just drain slowly. IF it backs up completely, how long does it take before it drains down, or does it just hold water indefinitely? There are a few simple things that we may have overlooked here. Does the pop up drain stopper come up very high? Have you looked down the sink drain through the actuall opening in the bottom of sink when the trap assembly is disconnected. Let us know the answer to all of these questions and we may find a more simple problem than a plugged drain. Lee

[tennisyoung1]

How unlucky could I be. My kitchen and laundry line also got clogged up. I snaked in it with my big machine but the snake got lodged inside the sewage pipe with the tree roots. I tried to pull it out with my car . No luck. I asked a plumber to take a look and he proposed to install a clean-out in the front yard where my pine tree is and snake in with his big machine to clean out all the roots all the way to the main sewage pipe. He said I could then snake it once a year from then on. Is this the best solution? The tree root may continue to grow inside the sewage pipe. Do I need to kill it?