The one thing I have tried to do about this is use those foaming and non-foaming drain unblockers regularly. That has just been money down the drain, pardon the pun.
I suspect that unblockers only work if the blockage is in trap (the first bendy bit that blocks smells). I suspect my blockage keeps occurring elsewhere, because when the washing machine flushes copious amounts of water, it has no problem coming out of the bathtub drain – so clearly that part isn't blocked.
I've also tried the plunger (which occasionally helped to unblock the pipes, and always helped get the 30 minutes daily exercise), and a snake (long bendy cable thing), which has been a complete waste.
My questions: is there anything else I can try or is it time to call a professional? Also, does this sound like some sort of a design problem with the pipes in my flat, or is this just the way drains always are? (hope not!…)
I have since learned the following things about my waste pipes, which together explain the constant blockage and glugging sounds:
- The pipe is far too narrow for a tub, two sinks, a dishwasher and a washing machine: only 4cm.
- There's a very sharp 90° bend near the exit from the property, which is where a huge blockage accumulates (10cm deep solid chunk of waste). Apparently a waste plumbing no-no.
- Most of the pipework lies flat on the floor, with zero slope. There's about 1.5m of it that is visible. Apparently against all plumbing codes and a cause of blockage.
- There was a T-junction installed "backwards" (directing incoming water from a sink towards the kitchen appliances and forcing it to reverse direction in order to leave the property). There was a humongous second blockage underneath this T-junction.
- There is no air vent (really!), explaining the noises. (update: the noises went away once the second blockage got eliminated)
Overall, a really bad plumbing job someone did here…
Best Answer
When drain water from one fixture comes back out another fixture, it means your blockage is beyond the point where those drains meet.
You need to get a good look at the topology of your waste plumbing, to get some ideas about where the blockage is. Clothes washer -> bathtub is a common symptom, because the clothes washer drains a lot of water up high (it has a pump) and the tub drain is down low.
Snaking down a drain is really hard, because of all the curves of the P-trap. If you're lucky, you have a clean-out somewhere, like under the house or behind a wall. Otherwise, you can try removing a P-trap to get the snake in, or removing a toilet. Removing a toilet is not very hard, but can be daunting.
We had a similar problem in this house. There were a few clean-outs accessible in the crawlspace, and our landlord used a hand-held snake in them, but didn't have much luck.
They hired a professional plumber. He pulled a toilet out and ran a huge snake down the drain (not one of the handheld units, but a huge, loud, floor-standing model heavy-duty cable). After running all 75' out, he borrowed another snake from his colleague, for 150' of snaking. This is a single-story house, on a 50'-wide lot, so the snake was well in to the street!
He said he pulled out a lot of roots. This is apparently common in older plumbing. They develop a small leak, and nearby plants grow after the nutrient-rich water, and find their way in to the pipe. It took him about 4 hours.
Plumbing is simple. There aren't a lot of rules to follow. Everything works in obvious ways. You don't need a lot of expensive, complicated tools, and if you do need something big, you can rent it. Anyone can fix plumbing.
But it can also be unpleasant. Screw-on connections may be rusted in place - hacksawing is often easier. There's the spectre of old poop and hair. Things may be difficult to reach - in a cabinet behind a sink basin or in a muddy crawlspace full of rat droppings.
If the job takes a few days, and you're unaccustomed to living without plumbing, it can be a trying time. Especially if there's a whole family in the house, and they aren't sympathetic. A pro will get the job done much faster, since they arrive with the right tools, parts, and experience.
There's a lot of instructions out there, on the internet, at the library, at the hardware store. If you decide to get your feet wet (get it? ha ha) then you will be able to find the information you need.