Attack of the Kitchen Sink! [A plea for help]

[Freylorn]

My wife, our roommates, and I live in a sub-level apartment. Lately, our kitchen sink has taken to - for lack of a better word - throwing up. I would assume it to be just a normal clog, but this isn't just water not emptying - this is the sink actively having water shoot up through the drain to fill the sink, then taking forever to empty. I woke up this morning to find the sink had overflowed with this disgusting water onto our counters and floor, and spent the first hour of my day cleaning it up.

Now, I have no experience with... well, let's face it, anything even remotely related to this. I would think to treat it like a clog and Drain-O the crap out of it, but as it's actually expelling liquid back into the sink, I'm not so sure that it's a simple clog.

We've complained to management, but it's not looking like we'll get a response in the immediate future, and this is getting... bad. Like, me going in and emptying this water - via bucket - into the toilet bad.

So naturally, I defer to a roleplaying game comic forum. :smallbiggrin: Seems the logical response, right? If anyone can tell me a simple fix for this, please, do let me know.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Simple fix? Probably doesn't exist for this.

Other fixes? Well, we'll see what we can do.

Now, I live in a house that's on a slab, which means no basement or even a crawl space underneath. I have has similar problems before, with a couple different reasons.

One being the pipes freezing up. If this is the cause, a way to fix it is to get a space heater of some kind and leave it on overnight near where the pipe for the drain runs..

The other cause being tree roots. You can find root killer at a hardware store, but that stuff is usually put in through the toilet, not the sink. But, it can help.

Off hand, that's all I can think of. Liquid Plumber and stuff probably wouldn't hurt, but I don't think it's going to help, either.

[Gullara]

I would advise calling a plumber.

...

That's about it.

[Orzel]

When all the water goes down.

Go under the sink and open the cleanout in the P trap. And clean out the trap.

Because it's a kitchen skin, your trap should be the bronze thing in the shape of a P.

But it's probably your main line or riser has a clog. Therefore you'll need a drain machine to unclog your no-hub or pvc waste line.

But I'm no plumber. I just sell them tools and material.

[Haruki-kun]

Probably should cut the water supply for the time being.

[Cyrion]

In addition to the above excellent advice (though cutting the water supply probably won't do much except prevent you from adding more water to the problem), there may be a few things you can do to apply leverage to your landlord.

What country are you in? Laws regarding what your landlord is obligated to do about this kind of problem vary by country and state. It would probably be worth a little time to find out what's what legally for you. A girlfriend and I once had a landlord try to get us to move into an apartment that was in awful condition. We went down to the local legal library and looked up the statutes on what constitutes a "livable dwelling" and were able to use that to apply some leverage that got holes in the walls and electricity issues fixed within a couple of days.

Depending on your local laws, you may be able to get a break on rent or have them provide an alternative living arrangement until the problem is fixed.

[Orzel]

Probably should cut the water supply for the time being.

Won't help if the water is coming from the drain.
The water from the supply line is not the water water coming from the drain (unless the original plumber is a complete moron).

Also the vent could be clogged and caused pressure in the waste line.

[Jack Squat]

Is this the only thing that's backing up? What else (if anything) is running when it backs up? (something obviously is, as that's where the water's coming from, but you can't really troubleshoot it if the source is outside of your apartment).

You most likely have a clog in the drain pipe in the wall and basically have two options. One is call a plumber and bill your landlord for the expenses. The other is go out and buy a plumber's snake and clear it yourself. Here's directions (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,193799-3,00.html) from This Old House's site. There's probably some Youtube videos demonstrating the process as well. Just don't use chemical cleaners, as they really don't work too well and can corrode out any metal pipes you might have.

[Orzel]

Yea forgot to say, stop using drain cleaner.

Liquid drain cleaner is for slow drains or when you know what the clog is.

But you need a drain machine most likely so call a plumber or buy one. A 3/8" x 25' handheld electric wire machine should be decent and runs $150-350 if the clog is in the wall. If it is in the main drain running in the basement, you might want to call the plumber 'cause that machine is expensive.

Also watch the bathroom. If the shower and toilet back up too, it is most likely in the main waste line.

[Freylorn]

Really appreciate all the responses thus far, folks, thanks.

My wife and I got in touch with our landlady and told her how bad things had gotten. Apparently it was on the "to-do" list for the company (it's not an independently owned building) but had no real priority.

After she heard about the sink literally overflowing onto the floor, she bumped it up to an emergency repair. The building handyman is here at the moment working on it - wish I could get more info out of him, but he barely speaks a word of English and I don't really speak French, so communication is a major issue.

At any rate, if you all are interested, I'll report back to say whether the issue got fixed or not, and (if possible) what the resolution was.

[Zherog]

One little tidbit I'll add...


...overflowed with this disgusting water...

Orzel sort of hit on this, but... What did you mean by "disgusting water" up there in your first post? There's a chance that the water you're getting is sewer water, rather than drain water. You'll know if it was sewer water -- it'll stink like, well, raw sewage.

If that's what you meant by "disgusting water" then do everybody in your apartment a favor and insist that the landlady also arrange for a cleaning company to come in and thoroughly disinfect your kitchen. While you're all capable of doing it with a lot of bleach and such, it's really on them to properly clean up the mess.

There are companies that specialize in this sort of cleaning, and your landlady really should be more than willing to arrange for one if you're dealing with sewage in your kitchen.

[Freylorn]

Disgusting water in this context was just referring to it being backwash of things gone down the sink. So all the stuff that gets rinsed out (coffee grains, a noodle or two, various bits of floatsam from eggs and the like) were shooting back up out of the drain.

In no way do I believe it to be actual sewage.

[Freylorn]

Problem successfully diagnosed!

The main pipe for the building has a major clog in it. Apparently, this is causing the other apartments' sink water to partially detour down the pipe intended for our drain, to the point of actually clogging up OUR pipe and, eventually, shooting up out of the drain.

We've got an actual plumber here now, who's fixing the issue :smallbiggrin:

[Zherog]

Excellent! Glad it's not the truly icky stuff. :)

[Orzel]

So I was right.

The main line was clogged and the only outlet for the other apartment's waste water was your kitchen.

Other Apartment
|
V
Other Apartment
|
V
Your Apartment -> Your sink
Main waste-> Sewer

The real question. Why did the backup hit your kitchen and not your bathroom?
Isn't your bathroom connected to the riser before the kitchen? Hmmm..

[RandomNPC]

So I was right.

The real question. Why did the backup hit your kitchen and not your bathroom?
Isn't your bathroom connected to the riser before the kitchen? Hmmm..

the building has one big drainage pipe, or a few that all go to one, the sink in that paticular apartment probably happens to be closer is all.

[Jack Squat]

the building has one big drainage pipe, or a few that all go to one, the sink in that paticular apartment probably happens to be closer is all.

I think what he's getting at is that normally if the main drainage pipe gets clogged, you get a back-up in the bathroom first because all of its fittings sit lower - esp. the shower and toilet.

However, if the pipes were connected in such a way that the kitchen was connected to the main before the toilet - and the clog was in-between the two - or if there are separate "mains" for drain water and sewage it could lead to the sink backing up but not the bathroom.

[DeadManSleeping]

My sink got clogged today! Lots of nasty stuff floated back into it, too.

Turns out some stuff from the garbage disposal got clogged up for, like, 3 or 4 inches in a section of pipe. I had to take the thing apart twice before I got it all out. Works fine now.

I want a bath so badly now. I could never be a plumber.

[Quincunx]

This must be malfunctioning-plumbing weekend. I finally got hold of some enzymatic drain cleaner to pour down the extremely slow shower drain. Now it is a wholly blocked shower drain. I can't even poke the full length of a bamboo skewer down there without hitting the trap and/or being unable to find where the water ought to be draining. :smallfrown:

[Orzel]

This must be malfunctioning-plumbing weekend. I finally got hold of some enzymatic drain cleaner to pour down the extremely slow shower drain. Now it is a wholly blocked shower drain. I can't even poke the full length of a bamboo skewer down there without hitting the trap and/or being unable to find where the water ought to be draining. :smallfrown:

Is the toilet clogged too? If it is, the line out the bathroomis probably clogged. If not, it's probably hair after the showe.. But you most likely need a drain machine either way.


Stop dumping drain cleaner.
Call a plumber.