Kitchen sink filling up and not draining properly

[aaronmcl]

Our kitchen sink will fill up with water when the washing machine is draining its water. The pipe coming from the washing machine goes into the sink pipe before the u-bend. Ive had a look at the u-bend which was completely clean. We live in a first floor apartment with one other apartment below us, no problem in that one.
Im starting to think im out of my depth and call a plumber, but would have liked to fix this myself.

Can anyone suggest to me my problem?

This might be related but every so often we would get this awful smelling coming from the plugholes in the bathroom - bath, shower, whb

Thanks all in advance

 

[whistler]

Water will take the easiest path which suggest that going up into your sink is easier than going down the drain. This in turn suggest a blockage or partial blockage in your drain.

As it always been like this or has it started recently and got worse?

There are DIY products available which you can try to free the blockage, ranging from plungers, compressed air canisters, flexible drain cleaners etc.

If you kitchen drain is open, i.e goes into a grid, then the blockage is going to be in the pipework from the sink to the drain. If however it is a closed drain the problem could be further down.

Is there a manhole close by which you can lift? If there is water backing up in there, then you have drain blockage which will need rodding or jetting.

 

[Bahco]

If you don't feel there is a blockage in your drains, fit a standpipe trap for your washer and run another waste pipe to outside.

 

[Nige F]

I`d go with partial blockage too..and maybe too small a stack(vertical)pipe taking the sink wastes ...is it purpose built flats or conversion?

 

[aaronmcl]

Firstly thanks for the replies.
The problem has only started recently, was fine before.
It is a purpose built flat. Ill have a look in the manhole to check for water. If there is no water in the manhole how could i fix this?

 

[bab]

If it is a partial blockage one of the most effective & cheap methods is to disolve washing soda crystals in boiling water & let them drain down the sink as slow as possible. IE bung the waste with a dishcloth so it seeps away over night. after several go,s its often a lot better.

 

[Nige F]

excellent idea I was thinking more of looking @ the roof for the vent from the waste stack........rather than the manhole maybe try and work out what goes where/size of pipes etc.

 

[ChrisR]

First thing to try is boil a big pan or three of water and tip them down the waste together. A lot of blockages will dissolve if given this treatment.

 

[Softus]

The cause of this is either a choke in your 1.5"/2" waste pipe(s), or a rise in pipework that should be falling.

If you've had no plumbing work carried out recently then it's likely to be a partial blockage.

If it's a build up of fat, fair, scale, detergent and clothing fibres, all stuck to the walls of the waste pipe, then there aren't any products that will do much to it.

Can you identify the route of pipework from sink, bath and basin, and work out where they converge? If you can, then get to the pipework after that point (or get a plumber to do it) and clear it out or renew it.

 

[aaronmcl]

The problem has resolved itself, we blocked the sink and overflow so that the water from the washing machine couldnt go anywhere except where it was supposed to i.e. down the drain, this must have forced the partial blockage through and all is well again

Once again, thanks all for your help.