Cleaning long waste run from kitchen sinks

[PaullovesLandRovers]

Paul does some sort of routine whereby he fills the pipe with whatever solution he's using and retains it in the pipe overnight. He has got the system working quite well but so far hasn't found a solution that does much with the sediment – it still runs nearly clear after being in the pipe about 8 hours.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Electric snake!

Andy

 

[Madrab]

It all sounds like a huge farf for little benefit. There shouldn't be much sediment left in the waste pipe, the reason for that is because the run is so long, hopefully it it well supported?

Would still recommend sorting out the pipework so the 40mm run is no more than around 4m and have a 45mm fall per M then transition to 110mm, do that and it shouldn't ever need cleaned to any great extent.

 

[PaullovesLandRovers]

Quite a lot to report:
With regard to the configuration of the waste pipe, Paul says that when he is planning an overnight soaking session, he fits the upstand into a pushfit elbow near the end of the pipe, which creates a U-shaped pipe – with a very long gently sloping bottom – from the exit from the sink to the temporary upstand. He then fills this U-shape with the cleaning solution. In the morning he carefully lowers the upstand to below horizontal level, allowing the solution to run into a bucket.
Paul has just spoken to Floplast, who make the pushfits, and they told him they are made of EPDM. The person who spoke to Paul agreed with your chart, Capt N, that both washing soda and caustic soda would be ok with them.

I said we would report back on how we got on with these solutions but Paul says that in fact the pipe isn't in need of this treatment urgently. Why the subject was in the front of his mind was that he has had to do some cleaning of the waste immediately below the sink recently – lots of smell and greasy black muck there – but this is a bit of a mystery because we try hard to avoid putting very greasy water down the drain. But that's another story.

I will try to remember to get back here to report on the success of washing soda (and caustic soda if necessary) when Paul next does an overnight soak.

 

[PaullovesLandRovers]

Madrab
Sorry, didn't see your second post. Paul does know about recommended length of pipe runs and wouldn't have done things this way if there had been a practical alternative.

 

[Captain Nemesis]

With regard to the configuration of the waste pipe, Paul says that when he is planning an overnight soaking session, he fits the upstand into a pushfit elbow near the end of the pipe, which creates a U-shaped pipe – with a very long gently sloping bottom – from the exit from the sink to the temporary upstand. He then fills this U-shape with the cleaning solution. In the morning he carefully lowers the upstand to below horizontal level, allowing the solution to run into a bucket.

Still cant picture it - I would have thought hed need to create a temporary closure of the pipe at the bottom end, where it enters the soil stack, if he wanted to have it of full of stuff overnight, not at the top end by the sink.

Plus "bucket"? 20m of 40mm dia pipe contains about 25l...

But whatever - if hes got a system which works he just needs to try options of sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide to see which is best.

 

[PaullovesLandRovers]

Sorry I didn't explain very well. The elbow temporarily fitted for the cleaning session blocks the exit, and the opening at the top of the vertical leg of this L is raised up higher than the sink end. Paul's gone to bed now, so I can't check with him that I've got this exactly right, but I think I have.

 

[dilalio]

Electric snake!

Andy

Is that the latest "toy" after the rampant rabbit?

 

[dilalio]

Jeswept... All sounds so Heath Robinson!
Get rid of the pushfit and solvent weld a proper run.