Best Way to Clean Clogged Pipes Under House
How to Unclog a Drain
Don't give upwards nevertheless!
Introduction
If the plunger and the serpent fail, yous probably take a big clog somewhere in the drainpipe. Here'southward how to locate the clog and grind your way through it.
Tools Required
Materials Required
- Expansion plug
- Hand cleaner
- Plastic cleanout plug
- Teflon tape
Tough clogs
Chock-full drains are always a hassle, but some, like a plugged P-trap under the sink or a stopped-up toilet, requires but a wrench, a plunger and a little elbow grease to unclog.
But sometimes the clog is deep in the drainpipe and requires more work and actress-powerful tools to root out. We'll show yous how to discover and clear out these clogs, which are oftentimes hidden in the bleed arrangement under your floor.
Video: How to Unclog a Drain
Salvage money by doing elementary plumbing repairs yourself. These fixes are completely DIY with bones tools and skills.
Project step-by-footstep (fourteen)
Pace 1
Figure A: Under-Floor Bleed System
The chore of clearing clogs in the larger drain lines found under the flooring isn't for everyone.
In the showtime place, you'll spend about $50 a day or more to rent the large drain-cleaning auger required, and you have to exist strong plenty to heft the motorcar and to wrench loose those old, corroded cleanout plugs. So there's the mess, and the half-twenty-four hours you'll spend running for rental equipment and miscellaneous plumbing parts.
Then why would anyone in their right mind attempt to clear out nether-floor drains?
Well, some of us thrive on challenge and love the satisfaction of solving a problem on our own. If this isn't motivation plenty, consider that professional bleed cleaners will accuse quite a chip more, depending on the problem, and you may have to miss work or waste fourth dimension waiting around for them to show upward. Proceed in mind, even so, that some clogs require the services of a pro. Don't hesitate to phone call a pro if you suspect that the chief drain to the street is clogged by tree roots or caved-in pipes.
For a large, printable version of Figure A, see Additional Information, below.
Step 2
How to Clean Bleed Pipes: Detect the Clog
The first step in clearing a clog is locating it. This often takes some trial and mistake, only here are a few pointers to go y'all started. If only one fixture is clogged, the problem is either in the trap or drain line leading from that fixture. If a group of fixtures is affected, wait for the clog in a location downstream from where their drains join.
Fig. A shows the bleed arrangement under the floor of a typical house. Find that a clog in the location shown would affect the kitchen and laundry drains, merely not the upstairs bath that drains into the chief stack. A clog in the larger principal drain would cause all the drains to end working.
As many of u.s.a. have discovered the hard way, a clog in the under-flooring bleed organization often results in wastewater bankroll upwards onto the floor through the floor drain. To prevent this backup, many floor drains are fitted with an insertable backflow preventer that allows water downwards but not up.
The photos below show ane method of removing the brawl-type backflow preventer to gain access to the floor drain trap for cleaning.
Never attempt to remove a cleanout plug from, or run a cable into, a drain that contains chemical drain cleaner. Telephone call a pro.
Step iii
Clear a floor bleed trap
Remove the backflow preventer to gain access to the flooring drain trap for cleaning. Drive a chisel against one of the notches in the retaining ring, turning it counterclockwise to unscrew it.
Pace 4
Clean out the trap
Vacuum out sand and dirt with a wet/dry vacuum. Loosen stubborn dirt or snag and recall other yucky stuff with a glaze hanger or small, hand-powered drain ophidian.
Step 5
Remove the cleanout plug
Unscrew the cleanout plug in the side of the flooring bleed with a pipe wrench, slip-joint pliers, or as a last resort, by chiseling it out with a cold chisel.
Step 6
Articulate the drainpipe
If cleaning the fixture trap doesn't solve the problem, and you lot've determined that the clog is in ane of the under-floor drains, then y'all'll have to rent a drain-cleaning machine. With it, you lot tin dial through the clog, snag and recall an obstruction, or cutting through roots or stubborn clogs.
Unplug the drainpipe leading from the floor drain by using a 1/two-in. cable inserted through the cleanout opening. Start with a full general-purpose drilling or retrieving tool fastened to the cable, and complete the task with a finishing tool.
Step 7
Opening stubborn plugs
The first thing you have to exercise to work on an under-floor bleed is to remove the cleanout plug. Removing a plug from corroded steel or cast fe plumbing equipment is a real chore. Try using a piping wrench with a steel pipe slipped over the handle to increase leverage. If this doesn't work, you'll accept to resort to chiseling.
Drive corroded cleanout plugs counterclockwise using a cold chisel and heavy hammer later squirting them with penetrating oil. If this doesn't work, interruption out the plug with the hammer and chisel, being careful not to let any pieces fall into the bleed. Clothing gloves and safety glasses, and be prepared for a possible alluvion of wastewater (yikes!).
Notation: Removing the cleanout may release a flood of backed-up wastewater, so exist prepared with buckets and rags, and stay articulate.
Step 8
Rent a drain-cleaning auto
Before you head to the rental shop, endeavor to determine the location of the clog, or be able to depict the symptoms. Smaller drain lines, from i-i/2 in. to iii in. in bore, require a 1/2-in. cable. Larger master drains crave a 3/4-in. cablevision.
Enquire the rental agent to recommend the correct auto and show y'all exactly how to use it. Also, ask for safety instructions. Inspect the machine to make certain the motor and pulley are covered with a guard. Enquire the rental agent to test the congenital-in footing fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), cheque the cord for fraying or vesture, and make sure the cable is non bent, kinked or tangled. Ask for an assortment of cleaning tools and a description of their utilize.
These machines are very heavy; a big machine with 100 ft. of 3/iv-in. the cable can weigh 215 lbs. You lot'll need help getting information technology in and out of your car and into the house.
Some rental machines use a cable that'southward dual-wound and has a cocky-feeding feature. Since we aren't demonstrating the use of this particular machine, inquire your rental dealer for condom and operating instructions.
Footstep ix
Bleed-cleaning tools
Connect a cleaning tool to the cable. Use the starting drill to bore through a clog, the retriever to snag rags or other items, the grease tool to cutting through grease and soap and make clean upwardly the sides of the pipage, and the root saw to cut through roots.
Step 10
Operating a drain-cleaning machine
These machines are powerful, and dangerous if safety precautions aren't followed. Read and follow the instructions provided with the equipment.
Position the motorcar 2 to 3 ft. from the cleanout opening, plug it into a grounded outlet or 12- or 14-gauge grounded extension cord, and make certain the switch on the motor is in the "Forwards" position. Put on heavy leather gloves and safety glasses and make sure yous aren't wearing any loose clothes, belts or jewelry that could become entangled in the cable.
Position the foot-operated switch where you can step on information technology while you're feeding cable into the drain. Do starting and stopping the car with the foot switch to become the hang of it.
Step 11
Feed-in the cable
Go along both hands firmly on the cable and slowly feed it into the pipe as you lot cease and first the motor with the foot switch until you lot can't push it whatever further. Experience for an increase in cable tension and listen for the motor to slow or the built-in safety clutch to slip. All of these point you lot've reached a clog. Terminate immediately when y'all sense a change.
Step 12
Reverse to salve tension
Flip the switch on the motor to "Contrary." Then use the human foot switch to run the motor in reverse for a few revolutions of the cable cage. This will relieve tension that may have built up in the cable when information technology hit the clog. Switch the motor back to "Forward."
NOTE: The simply other fourth dimension you should opposite the motor is when the cable gets stuck and will non turn in the forward position.
Step 13
Take your time
Chew slowly through a clog by following these steps:
- Tighten the lock commodities that secures the cablevision.
- Depress the foot switch, running the automobile in "Forward" while yous concur the cable.
- Loosen the lock bolt, feed a little more cablevision into the drain and retighten the bolt.
- Echo this procedure until you cut through the clog.
Do not allow tension to build upwardly in the cable. This will happen if the cut head hits a snag and stops turning, merely the motor and its cage continue to rotate. Torque builds until the cable suddenly twists, potentially wrapping effectually your hand or arm similar a steel boa constrictor! This tin happen quickly and without warning, so proceed slowly and carefully equally you feed the cable into the drain.
Footstep 14
Supervene upon the cleanout plug
Afterwards you've conquered the clog and it's time to supervene upon the cleanout plug, employ a plastic rather than a metallic plug, and don't forget to use Teflon plumbing tape to seal the threads.
If the cleanout plumbing fixtures is also damaged or corroded to utilise a threaded expansion plug as shown. Install the expansion plug. Push the plug into the cleanout fitting, and tighten the thumbscrew or Allen commodities in the heart of the encompass to consummate the seal. Plumbing suppliers also behave a diversity of plugs and couplings that will solve the problem.
If you have the time and free energy later boring through the clog, make clean the sides of the pipe by attaching a finishing tool to the cable and running the total length of the cablevision down the drain. And so use a hose to run water down the drain equally you recall the cablevision. The water will flush the debris down the drain and rinse gunk off the cable as you
reel information technology in.
Check out these 28 tips for becoming a master plumber.
Boosted Information
- Effigy A: Under-floor drain organisation
Source: https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/how-to-unclog-a-drain-that-s-hopelessly-clogged/
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