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Following are the steps to take when trying to resolve various types of drain problems. You’ll find more about each in the other Repair & Care articles in this section.
How to Locate a Drain Clog
Every plumbing fixture in your home carries waste to the sewer or septic tank via a system of drainpipes. Also connected to this system are vents, which expel sewer gases out the roof. Each fixture has a “trap”—a U-shaped pipe (in the case of a toilet, part of the fixture itself)—that contains water in order to block sewer gases from entering your home.
When a fixture is blocked, check all the other toilets, sinks, and tubs in the house to see if they’re also draining improperly. If only the one fixture is clogged, the stoppage is usually located in that fixture’s trap or branch drain. If other fixtures are backed up, the blockage is probably beyond where they join a branch line.
Backups at lower points in the system—or throughout the entire system—usually mean that the main stack or sewer line is clogged. To remedy this situation, it’s usually wisest to call in a plumber.
General Advice for Unclogging Drains
1) If a drain is simply moving slowly, you can use a chemical drain cleaner, but beware—the caustic nature of most drain cleaners can damage certain kinds of pipes and upset the delicate chemical balance of a septic system. And, if the drain becomes fully clogged, the caustic solution can back up into a fixture, making it hazardous to plunge the drain.
2) Plunge the drain at the fixture.
3) Try to clear out a hair blockage in a sink or tub drain with the help of a straightened coat hanger with a small hook at one end. Remove and clean the pop-up as hair and debris often collect around this assembly.
4) Connect a hydraulic bladder to a garden hose and try blasting out the clog.
5) Try to clear the blockage with a snake, working from the fixture.
6) Try to clear the blockage with a snake, working from a branch cleanout.
7) If all else fails, call in a plumber.
It’s much easier, of course, to prevent a drain blockage in the first place. Scalding water can clear drains of grease. Install a strainer in kitchen and bathroom sinks to prevent hair and soap, small utensils, and other objects from slipping down the drain.
Why we like it:
• Attaches to a powerdrill
• Handy for small andmedium household drains
How to Snake a Drain Clog
Plumbing snakes (also called augers) are made in two varieties: drain augers and closet augers (named after “water closet,” a plumbing term for toilet). Most people are familiar with the drain auger, a long, tightly wound flexible metal cable with a corkscrew auger at one end and a crank at the other. The closet auger is a little less familiar—it’s a very short version of the snake with a rigid end that is easier to push down into a toilet. Following are directions on how to use a drain auger:
1) Wearing rubber gloves, push the cable into the drain while turning the auger’s handle clockwise. Keep repositioning the grip as you feed the snake into the drain.
2) When you feel the auger reach the blockage, keep turning and pull back a bit to chew away and dislodge the clog.
3) Push forward again to grind away and, eventually, drive the auger through the clog.
4) If possible, pull the blockage out through the pipe. At this point, the job becomes messy, so have a bucket ready and pull the cable back through a heavy-duty rag.
5) If this doesn’t work, try to find a branch cleanout (a sanitary-T fitting with a plug in one fork, located along the drainpipe that runs from the fixture to the main soil stack, often visible in a basement or crawlspace). With a large bucket under the cleanout, slowly back out the plug with a wrench. Be ready: Water and waste may gush out.
6) Run the drain auger in through the branch pipe as described in steps 1 through 4. If there doesn’t appear to be a clog in the branch, the blockage may be in the main waste and vent stack or in the sewer line.
7) You can try to find the main cleanout and repeat this snaking effort, or you can try running an auger down the vent stack from the roof, although it is probably a better idea to call in a plumber.
How to Plunge a Clogged Drain
When a drain is clogged—whether it’s a sink, a toilet, or a tub—the first thing to try is breaking up the clog by plunging the drain with a plunger, also known as a “plumber’s helper.” Be sure you have one that has an elongated bell shape; the bell—needed to properly plunge a toilet—folds up so that the shape of the plunger becomes flat around the end for plunging sinks and tubs. A plunger always works better if you put enough water into the fixture to cover the plunger.
To plunge a toilet, fill the bowl about half full. Push the bell-shaped end of the plunger down into the drain, and, maintaining a tight seal, rapidly pump 10 to 20 times with short strokes.
To plunge a sink or tub, first remove the strainer and pop-up. Stuff a rag into a plastic bag, and use this to plug the overflow hole. Fill the fixture with enough water to cover the plunger’s flat rubber cup. Plunge steadily up and down 15 or 20 times and intersperse a few powerful pushes. Keep the plunger tightly sealed against the fixture. A plunger doesn’t usually work on shower drains, but it’s worth a try; be sure the water level covers the plunger.
How to Water Blast a Clogged Drain
There is a tool that’s easier and less messy to use than a snake for breaking loose clogs: a “blow bag” or “hydraulic ram,” which is essentially an expanding rubber bladder that, when attached to a garden hose and pushed down into the offending pipe, fills with water, expands, and then blasts the clog loose.
These simple little devices cost about $10 and will work on most clogs. You have to use them judiciously, however, so you do not break loose the connections of a plastic-pipe drain system.
1) Push the blow bag about 6 inches into the drainpipe, and be ready (with a bucket) for water to back up out of the pipe. If you are using one on a bathtub, push it down the overflow pipe until it passes the tee at the tub drain.
2) Turn on the water and allow the bag to fill and seal itself inside the pipe. Then it should pulse with blasts that break loose the clog.
3) Be ready to turn off the water immediately if it doesn’t work.
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