Clogged pipes - help

[Siefer999]

so there was an extension done to the first floor on my house and that extension included a full bathroom. its been about 6 years but now anything other than liquid that goes down that toilet results in a clog. this includes just toilet paper and doesnt even need the extent of a large sized #2 that i like to drop ever so often.

the clogged toilet slowly drains and if i try to pump it, i can hear swishing in my bathtub and sink. sometimes backed up liquids splash up from those drains. was my plumbing installed incorrectly since it appears they are all closely connected or is that the way it goes?

i was thinking of dropping some draino down there but all the draino and alternatives appear to say to not use it in the toilet. is there a safe product that i can use to unclog my pipes or something I can do myself without calling a plumber? its been going on like this for the past month and its getting really annoying. if just dump some draino down there will it screw up my pipes or septic tank?

thanks in advance:)

[Red_Army]

so there was an extension done to the first floor on my house and that extension included a full bathroom. its been about 6 years but now anything other than liquid that goes down that toilet results in a clog. this includes just toilet paper and doesnt even need the extent of a large sized #2 that i like to drop ever so often.

the clogged toilet slowly drains and if i try to pump it, i can hear swishing in my bathtub and sink. sometimes backed up liquids splash up from those drains. was my plumbing installed incorrectly since it appears they are all closely connected or is that the way it goes?

i was thinking of dropping some draino down there but all the draino and alternatives appear to say to not use it in the toilet. is there a safe product that i can use to unclog my pipes or something I can do myself without calling a plumber? its been going on like this for the past month and its getting really annoying. if just dump some draino down there will it screw up my pipes or septic tank?

thanks in advance:)

do not use anything like drano, as they are acids

yes your drain pipes are all interconnected, and this tells me that the blcokage is further down the stack as all of your drains in that bathroom arent draining properly

theres nothing you can do but to call a plumber to have it snaked or flushed.....or you could always rent a snake machine from home depot yourself

[Siefer999]

thanks for the info.

now i guess i need some plumber recommendations. i dont really want to snake anything myself. ive seen it done at my work by a plumber and it wasnt pretty

we have another bathroom at the other end of the house but sharing it with other family members after i drop a couple of logs isn't nice for them.

any chance it will unclog itself?

[Red_Army]

thanks for the info.

now i guess i need some plumber recommendations. i dont really want to snake anything myself. ive seen it done at my work by a plumber and it wasnt pretty

we have another bathroom at the other end of the house but sharing it with other family members after i drop a couple of logs isn't nice for them.

any chance it will unclog itself?

it never will be pretty when you deal with drains...i will pm you a plumber..

[Dustbunny]

Oh lovely. In one house I had, the second drains started backing up into other plumbing (like sink to tub) I would have to get a plumber in who would come and clean the main stack and pipes. Worked every time and there is no way to clear that kind of thing with chemicals. I have to say it's really not a job for the faint of heart or stomach and it's messy. Make sure you have some plastic or old shower curtains available that you can throw out after so you can cover your basement floor while the stuff is being cleaned out.

[WalnutCrunch]

Oh lovely. In one house I had, the second drains started backing up into other plumbing (like sink to tub) I would have to get a plumber in who would come and clean the main stack and pipes. Worked every time and there is no way to clear that kind of thing with chemicals. I have to say it's really not a job for the faint of heart or stomach and it's messy. Make sure you have some plastic or old shower curtains available that you can throw out after so you can cover your basement floor while the stuff is being cleaned out.

Yeah it's pretty gross. Also cover up the walls, maybe the ceilings too. :D

If the clog happens more than once, it may be worthwhile to have your drains scoped. You'll be able to see the condition of the pipes and any problems, all the way to the city sewers. It costs a couple hundred bucks to do it but it'll help determine the source of the problem. The camera head has a beacon so you can pinpoint the exact location of the problem too.

The best time to do a scope is after the pipes have been augured. If you do it at a later date and there is obstructions in the line again, it'll have to be augured again before scoping can happen.

[nornet]

do not use anything like drano, as they are acids

yes your drain pipes are all interconnected, and this tells me that the blcokage is further down the stack as all of your drains in that bathroom arent draining properly

theres nothing you can do but to call a plumber to have it snaked or flushed.....or you could always rent a snake machine from home depot yourself

Agreeded on the chemical treatments, they won't work. There is a third option, buy a manual snake for about $25 (they are about 25 ft long). Mine is 10 years old and has saved me 3 plumber call ins. Two were relatively straight forward clean outs but the last was quite tricky as the pipe was a right angle and was difficult to start the snake.

[IoannI]

I got a 50ft electric snake, and its beautiful. My dad purchased it about a year or two before he passed away. He had this customer who has a restaurant and he would be snaking out the toilet/drain mimimum once a month cause they had bad customers.

I still have it and kinda love having it. Especially when you have renters in the basement; as well as, a little sister who doesn't know any better and throws stuff down the toilet.

I don't recommned those drano chemical products. For regular maintenece, it doens't hurt to pour some down once a month, but I don't suggest them for unclogging a drain. All I ever recommend them is just prevent a possible clog. Personally, I don't think these consumer grade products work. My uncle used to purchased resturant grade drano product and that **** would work, cause he used to also have a restaurant.

[impronto]

you mean professor amos wont work? :)

http://www.theshoppingchannel.com/product/home/home+improvement/professor+amos+fast+%26+prev+maintenance+kit+29388 2.do?&N=128384&Ns=P_DATE_CREATED

[Techhead]

so there was an extension done to the first floor on my house and that extension included a full bathroom. its been about 6 years but now anything other than liquid that goes down that toilet results in a clog. this includes just toilet paper and doesnt even need the extent of a large sized #2 that i like to drop ever so often.

the clogged toilet slowly drains and if i try to pump it, i can hear swishing in my bathtub and sink. sometimes backed up liquids splash up from those drains. was my plumbing installed incorrectly since it appears they are all closely connected or is that the way it goes?

i was thinking of dropping some draino down there but all the draino and alternatives appear to say to not use it in the toilet. is there a safe product that i can use to unclog my pipes or something I can do myself without calling a plumber? its been going on like this for the past month and its getting really annoying. if just dump some draino down there will it screw up my pipes or septic tank?

thanks in advance:)

Snake is best for a toilet.

If your are plunging and can hear it in the other drains, Do those drains have properly functioning P-Traps?

Also, sounds like the bathroom was built without any proper venting.

[Red_Army]

i dont recommend them at all..because they are an acid, at eat away at your pipes, and the eat ABS cement also

dont beleive what they write on the can...ive seen it happen all to many times

I recommend a product called Bio-clean....its a natural enzyme that is safe for your drains and the environment, and works great....however it is only a preventative maintenance, and does not remove blockages

there is no such product that can safely remove blockages other than a snake

I got a 50ft electric snake, and its beautiful. My dad purchased it about a year or two before he passed away. He had this customer who has a restaurant and he would be snaking out the toilet/drain mimimum once a month cause they had bad customers.

I still have it and kinda love having it. Especially when you have renters in the basement; as well as, a little sister who doesn't know any better and throws stuff down the toilet.

I don't recommned those drano chemical products. For regular maintenece, it doens't hurt to pour some down once a month, but I don't suggest them for unclogging a drain. All I ever recommend them is just prevent a possible clog. Personally, I don't think these consumer grade products work. My uncle used to purchased resturant grade drano product and that **** would work, cause he used to also have a restaurant.


manual snakes are OK for some small blockages, but they wont work for anything serious


Agreeded on the chemical treatments, they won't work. There is a third option, buy a manual snake for about $25 (they are about 25 ft long). Mine is 10 years old and has saved me 3 plumber call ins. Two were relatively straight forward clean outs but the last was quite tricky as the pipe was a right angle and was difficult to start the snake.

the next step would be to hydro flush the line, as this cleans the pipes...because al lsnaking does is puunches a hole through the blockage, wheas a hydro fluch completely removes it.....usually we would only camera from one of the main cleanouts for drainiage out to the street... a camera is very good to source out collapsed pipes, tree roots etc. (main drainage problems)


Yeah it's pretty gross. Also cover up the walls, maybe the ceilings too. :D

If the clog happens more than once, it may be worthwhile to have your drains scoped. You'll be able to see the condition of the pipes and any problems, all the way to the city sewers. It costs a couple hundred bucks to do it but it'll help determine the source of the problem. The camera head has a beacon so you can pinpoint the exact location of the problem too.

The best time to do a scope is after the pipes have been augured. If you do it at a later date and there is obstructions in the line again, it'll have to be augured again before scoping can happen.