Help. flooded kitchen with Washing M/C - can't clear block

[fluff29]

Any help greatly appreciated.

My kitchen sink is slightly slow to drain and water from washing machine was backfilling to the sink. Plumber came round and changed pipework to create an upstand for the Washing m/c waste hose. He thought this was the prob.

Put machine on & the water all came back out of the upstand (twice) and flooded the kitchen. Plumber had left by this time and has since advised that there is a slight blockage further beneath the floor & to try a chemical sink unblocker or wire rods, he can't do anymore. And advised that we may need drain specialist to jet the drain.

I have tried 2 bottles of domestos sink upblocker, did not help. Any advise on what to try next. I did not want to try an unblocker from B&Q as they say that different chemicals should not be mixed.

I can't see any rodding eyes outside.

What can I do next?

Thank everyone

Fluff

 

[dextrous]

Where does the wastepipe go out to? Not sure why your plumber thought that a slow emptying sink was down to the lack of an upstand

 

[fluff29]

Hi dextrous

I'm not sure. The plastic pipe fits to a copper pipe which goes straight down under the floor. Can't get under floor to see where it goes. To the RHS of the sink is the main pipe box (about 1m from the sink) which leads from upstairs. I am unsure if it is common practice for the sink waste to feed into this main pipe or will the kitchen pipe lead directly outside?

Is is a 1965 wimpey house.

Sorry I can't be more specific.

Fluff

 

[dextrous]

It is quite normal for the waste pipe to connect into the WC soil pipe. I'm assuming your kitchen is on the ground floor and that the wastepipe doesn't emerge through the wall on the outside to a surface drain. Can you confirm this?

Also, the plumber who took your money without actually solving the problem, where did he connect the new washing machine upstand to?

 

[fluff29]

Yes, kitchen on ground floor & wastepipe does not emerge through the wall to an outside drain. No pipework is visible on the outside of the house.

There is a connector at the bottom of the kitchen cupboard, he had inserted a piece of straight pipe off of this, a u bend and then a long upstand (connected to the side of the cupboard). Similar to what I had in my last house and it worked ok.

 

[dextrous]

There are several possible causes for the backflow, so we'll try the easiest first. The connection to the copper pipe - can this be easily removed (plastic screw fitting or a rubber insert) - if so, this would seem to be the easiest place to get a length of wire or some other type of auger (available from BQ - a bit like http://www.screwfix.com/prods/11325/Hand-Tools/Plumbing-Tools/Sink-Drain-Clearance/Drain-Unblocker but not so expensive nor complicated - basically a long spring with a spiral at the end)) down.

It is a pity the plumber went for the option he did without trying a simple plunger first - would have made life a bit easier now!

 

[fluff29]

Thanks for that info.

This was the same thing that I was looking at in B&Q when getting the chemical unblocker tonight. Will get one in the morning and give it a bash. I have already had the pipe off at the bottom to pour the unblocker straight to the problem area.

Do I need to twist the wire rod or am I just pushing it in to dislodge the blockage? Do I need to flush the pipe through after rodding to wash the blockage through? If yes, should it just be hot water?

Thanks again

 

[dextrous]

Twist, push, whatever does the job to be honest. Can be fiddly, and we're hoping to get round the bend under the floor ideally. Hot water will help dissolve and fats better than cold water. Also caustic soda will help dissolve it too - but check the package in case it warns against using it for prolonged periods with copper as it's corrosive - there may be more user friendly products more suitable (maybe that foam clear stuff you sometimes see on TV).

See how it goes and get back to us. If it does work, then you could remove the upstand if you want, since this will mean that any future blockage will not flood over the top of it and onto the floor (instead it will fill the sink which is more containable, and may have an opportunity to drain out during the wash cycle). Depends if he left the plug he removed from the tee/access point, or if you can get a suitable replacement.

 

[fluff29]

Hi all

QUick update. I used the rotating wire rod into the pipe. I managed to get in to around it's full lengh of 25ft. Does this seem correct? The sink is only 1 metre away from the main pipe which runs from the bathroom and the big manhole covers in my neighbours driveway is only about 5 metres away.

My husband suggested that I may have hit the blockage and that the wire was only curling round and round inside the pipe when I rotated it.

Whilst feeding in the wire, it felt like there was alot of resistance around every 6 inches. WOuld this seem feasible if the pipes were clogged on the sides all the way down the pipes?

When the wire came out, it was covered in black sludge (looked like oil) with a couple of lumps of hair but nothing excessive.

The sink is draining abit quicker but I am not convinced that it is totally clear. The wire did not come out freely, felt like it was pulling with resistance against something all the time.

I'm just scared that the upstand will overflow again.

Any thoughts on whether anyone thinks it is cleared?

I will put the wire down the hole again tomorrow night.

Thanks

Fluff

 

[dextrous]

Difficult to be sure. You will have got resistance due to the fact that the wire is being pushed through bends in the pipe.

The next place to look if still no joy tomorrow would be in your neighbour's manhole since it is quite likely than you share your drainage with them.

As an example - I share mine with an asian family who like to put lots of rice (amongst other less savoury things) down the sink. This was causing a blockage and slow drainage. Opening the manhole uncovered a not too pleasant sight, but after an hour slowly "chipping away" the contents of the drain with a hose, all was well. Not for the faint hearted though

It may well be that the slow emptying from your sink is due to a similar problem. Could be that you neighbour's sink drains slowly as well.

 

[JayJay1978]

What kind of unblocker have you used? A plumber will try liquid plumber or similar (after caustic soda) its sulphuric acid I think and it will eat the blockage.
The one I have says it can't be mixed with water though, difficult to keep them seperate.
Have you got a wet hoover, try sucking the blockage out, it seems you had some success with the wire though.

 

[fluff29]

Dextrous - I will get my husband to look in the manholes tonight. Definately a man's job.

JayJay - It was Domestos 15 minute sink unblocker. I don't want to try any other liquid as alot of them say on the bottle that you shouldn't mix the chemicals.

Thanks for all your thoughts.

Fluff

 

[regsmyth]

When doing some mods to our bathroom, I cut back the waste pipe from the shower, which had been quite slow to drain. There had been a slight dip in it, so solids would settle and build up, into a thick sludge full of hair and stuff.
Although I could push a rod through, it didn't make a lot of difference, so I tied a rag to the end of the rod, scooped some of it out, and pushed the rest further along into the soil stack.

If you try the rag on a rod method, make sure the rag cannot come off!!

 

[fluff29]

Thanks for the idea with the rag - great. How did you manage to fix it on?

I had wondered now the little thing on the end of the flexible wire would get all the way to the gunk on the outside of the pipe.

Cheers

Fluff

 

[fluff29]

Hi guys

Quick update. Have rodded pipe again. More black gunk. Put a hose in the pipe and water didn't back up. FLushed through with lots of hot water with fairy liquid. Now have some diluted soda crystals draining slowly from sink.

I am not brave enough to put the washing machine hose directly into the upstand. Would I be able to put a mcalpine inlet connector on the top of the upstand and connect the washing machine hose with a jubilee clip? Not sure if this would fail if there was another pressure build up if the block is not sorted.

Is it also possible to get some sort of non-return valve on the end of the washine machine hose to stop waster being pushed back into the machine if there is still a blockage?

Sorry for all the questions.

Fluff