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Bonnie Campbell
06-21-2009, 12:40 PM
Okay, went to wash dishes and the kitchen sink is plugged up. Plunged and still no relief. Was going to put liquid plumber down the drains in all three sections. But then heard water 'running'. Some how the water has backed up into the dishwasher (which I KNOW hasn't been used in 9 years). I checked other drains in the house, they seem to be flowing normally. And no water backing up anywhere but the dishwasher. Can anyone give me an idea of where/how to start working on the problem. Nobody here to 'fix it' but me. And I know NOTHING about plumbing, other than not to put grease or food scraps down drains :(

fred marcuson
06-21-2009, 1:25 PM
ok , plunging the line will pull/push the water into the dishwasher ..
if yo have a flexible drain hose to the dishwasher you ca use a pair of vise grips and 2 small blocks of wood to clamp it off. then try plunging again . if plunging doesn't clear it out , try the liquid plumber . leave the 'clamp' on the dishwasher line so the lp doesn't go in the dishwasher ..
option 2 : what we did at an apartment complex i worked at . turn the dishwasher on drain and plunge the drain like crazy !! the extra pressure from the dishwasher pump usually helps to open the line .
whatever you do once the line is open ; run the dishwasher to clean it out :)
derf

Bonnie Campbell
06-21-2009, 2:05 PM
Thank Fred. I went ahead and clamped the dishwasher hose. Plunged like mad for at least 15 minutes, no luck. Got liquid plumber in it now, soaking. Will try it again in a bit. The dishwashers so old I don't even know if it works. So, no idea if the pump works. Guess I can try if nothing else does it. We have a snake somewhere in this house, but where is anybodies guess :rolleyes:

103 degrees hare, no AC and working on plumbing. Oh yeah, great day here!

Thanks again Fred for your help!

Bonnie Campbell
06-21-2009, 3:53 PM
Okay, it might have opened up a tad. Water will go down if I plunge like crazy at it. But running the tap it still will fill up fairly fast. I used a liquid plumber gel. Only have a container of that dry lye stuff (Red Devil?). And they say NOT to use it after using anything else. Oh well, guess I'll wait for it to be cooler in the morning and run into the store then for more liquid plumber......

Brian Kent
06-21-2009, 4:37 PM
I just checked the Weather Underground website and it says that when you include heat index you're at 108!!!!

Holy cow. I hope the stuff in the drain just melts!

Brian

Cliff Rohrabacher
06-21-2009, 8:08 PM
Sounds to me like you need a mechanical snaking out of the plumbing.

You can rent one with a power head on it and it'll do a great job.

Mike Cutler
06-21-2009, 10:29 PM
Bonnie

Under the kitchen sink, I'm assuming here, you should see the drains coming down into a common "header", or drain line. At the low point of the three drains you should see the "trap" an "S" shaped fixture that is desingned to trap water to stop sewage gasses from coming back up through your drains. Somewhere above this "Trap" you should see a smaller line "Teeing" into one of the sink drains. This is your dishwasher drain line. What is most likely happening is that the Trap is clogged, and when you plunge you are just forcing the contents of the sink drains back into the dishwasher.
Hopefully the liquid plumber works. If not, you may have a removable trap. In other word it will have "flanged Unions" that unscrew so that the whole trap can be removed. If it does, two pair of large channel lock pliers will undo the unions. Be sure and put a bucket underneath.
If you can rent a snake, that would most likely correct your problem.
If no flanged union, and you still can't get the sink unclogged, and the snake didn't work, you can cut the trap out and replace it with the correct sized Fernco Trap fitting( A flexible rubber trap with two hose clamps) assuming it is a PVC, or ABS plastic. Cut the original clamp as close to the shoulders of the trap as possible. The Fernco is designed to accommodate this. You could also redo the plumbing easily enough, but not as quickly.
If you have cast iron piping and it is doped and threaded, call a plumber. A Fernco will still work, but it may be sized differently.

David G Baker
06-22-2009, 12:10 AM
Bonnie,
If you do take the plumbing apart be very careful of the drain cleaner you have put in your drain because there is probably some still in the drain pipes under your sink.

Bonnie Campbell
06-22-2009, 7:35 AM
Just out of curiosity, could it be the vent that's causing this? Aren't there vents on the roof? Just wondering. Did figure I'd plunged enough water through to remove the trap. Definitely no plug up before that. Going to see if I can find someone to come today.

Guess I can look at it this way, yesterday I got exercise (plunging) and my kitchen floor mopped :rolleyes:

Prashun Patel
06-22-2009, 8:15 AM
Hmmm, I doubt it's the vent, bkz you'd probably get draining, it'd just be slow. Yr dishwasher discharges into the sink drain, probably, so if there's a plug somewhere in the drain line, the sink water'd eventually back out of the dishwasher. So, I'm gonna bet it's a plug.

My advice (and I'm not a plumber - and have learned not to trust the advice from nonplumbers!) is don't pour more chemicals down there. They rarely work permanently. If you have some channel lock pliers or a pipe wrench, I'd remove the p-trap in the sink and inspect it and as far in as you can reach down the drain for clogs. If the clog is not obvious, I'd call in a pro.

Also, have you checked out TerryLove.com? That site is way better than this one for plumbing advice. You'll get a right good schooling there....

Dan Mages
06-22-2009, 10:55 AM
Please post a picture of the plumbing under your sink. It will help us instruct you on what to do.

Thanks

Dan

David Keller NC
06-22-2009, 11:17 AM
"Just out of curiosity, could it be the vent that's causing this? Aren't there vents on the roof?"

While doubtful that a clogged vent would result in a complete "no drain" situation, it can certainly cause a slow-drain problem. And if you've a mechanical system attached to it, it can cause a flood (i.e. - the dishwasher pump works faster than the drain can handle).

Generally speaking, older houses have drain vents that go to the roof. Newer houses, especially less expensive ones, have capped vents under the sink. These are generally not favored, because they've a tendency to rattle.

Since you've decided to call a professional (good move, IMO - it should result in a permanent fix), I'm mentioning this because it's a good idea to have the vent to the roof, if it exists, snaked out at the same time that you have the drain line itself snaked.

Bonnie Campbell
06-22-2009, 9:34 PM
Well, the guy came and conquered......He asked where the access trap was (huh?) Ended up running the garden hose down into the roof vent. It appears to all be working correctly again. He said to put some liquid plumber in the sink again and run some water to flush it past the trap into the main line, just as an 'extra' boost to the flush out.

Y'all on here are life savers. And I want to thank each and everyone that took time to reply. I know I'm not to bright about stuff, so it helps me feel better knowing there is someplace I can go to ask for help. THANK YOU ALL!

Michael Weber
06-23-2009, 11:07 AM
I know I'm not to bright about stuff

Nonsense! Everyone is ignorant, just in different areas:)