Kitchen sink

[jdhm]

Help. Kitchen sink wonk drain. Checked pipes under dink. All clear. Used a lot of baking soda and vinegar. Used plunger. Nothing helps. 

Any suggestions?

Thank you. 

J.D. 

[Wrknrvr]

 First of all I am not a chemist so with what you have in there now mite be a proble with my idea.

 

 I have used simple green to clear a drain. Is there any flow at all. If you fill the sink to the bottom will it drain. Even over 12 hours. At all. The simple green may take overnight to do its thing.

 

 If not it may be time to use a plumbers snake to clear it.

 

just my thoughts Vern 

[oldjohnt]

  I am concerned about any over harsh chemical drain cleaners in my RV drain pipes and holding tanks etc., so if a clog persists despite your efforts Id be looking at a snake type cleaning BUT IM NOOOOOOOOOO PLUMBER. My advice is ask a professional plumber about this and/or try using a snake yourself which I don't view as any big risk and would certainly try myself.

 Sorry no help, only a non professional opinion.

John T

 

[Superchief48]

I am new to this site and would like to start a new topic. What is meant by "title" and" tags?

[Kirk W]

5 minutes ago, Superchief48 said:

I am new to this site and would like to start a new topic. What is meant by "title" and" tags?

Let me suggest that you make a new post that starts a new thread in the beginner's forum since this one is about plumbing problems.

7 hours ago, jdhm said:

Checked pipes under dink. All clear.

Would I be correct to assume that you have taken the drain trap apart and cleaned it out? Is your kitchen sink split into a double sink and if so, are both sides clogged up? If you have not taken off the drain trap I would start with that. It is usually pretty easy to remove and then just take it outside and push something through it and use detergents and hot water to clean it completely. If you are able to get at least a small amount to pass through the drains you can then use other means to clean the piping but if nothing at all goes through you will have to use a plumber's snake or remove the drain piping.

[Optimistic Paranoid]

The original poster didn't say anything about the condition of the gray tank.  Are we assuming that it isn't full?

[Pat & Pete]

 

Is it a double ( side by side ) sink ? 

If so , when you plunge , are you blocking the drain not being plunged so all pressure is being forced down the pipe rather than out the other drain hole ? 

[jpcoll01]

Good suggestions above.  Easiest solution would be that your grey tank is full and your "lights" are just goofed up showing that it isn't full (happens all the time).  but if it drained enough to let you check the traps then maybe that isn't the case.  Shouldn't be a very long run and woudl be easy to run a cheap snake down the line after taking off the trap and ensure a clear run to your grey tank.  Should be able to get one at Lowes for under $20.

[Pat & Pete]

40 minutes ago, jpcoll01 said:

Good suggestions above.  Easiest solution would be that your grey tank is full and your "lights" are just goofed up showing that it isn't full (happens all the time).  but if it drained enough to let you check the traps then maybe that isn't the case.  Shouldn't be a very long run and woudl be easy to run a cheap snake down the line after taking off the trap and ensure a clear run to your grey tank.  Should be able to get one at Lowes for under $20.

Maybe that^ only if the kitchen sink has a separate grey tank . 

If the grey is shared with the bathroom sink and shower , the kitchen sink water , being higher , would tend to come up in the shower if the grey was full . 

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

13 minutes ago, Pat & Pete said:

Maybe that^ only if the kitchen sink has a separate grey tank . 

If the grey is shared with the bathroom sink and shower , the kitchen sink water , being higher , would tend to come up in the shower if the grey was full . 

 

Hmnn.  A valid point.  But not every rig has a shower and bathroom sink.  Alaskan truck campers don't.

[jdhm]

Thank you for your suggestions. Plumbing under sink was removed and is clear. Gray tank empty and open. Having a professional look at it this afternoon. 

Thanks 

J.D. 

[Barbaraok]

Did you pour some boiling water down the drain?  

[Kirk W]

3 hours ago, jdhm said:

Having a professional look at it this afternoon. 

If you would, please post a summary of what your professional finds to be the problem so that we may learn from it.

[GeorgiaHybrid]

I would think the vacuum breaker is stuck closed. An easy fix after a trip to Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

 

[Kirk W]

7 minutes ago, GeorgiaHybrid said:

I would think the vacuum breaker is stuck closed. An easy fix after a trip to Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

 

That is a possibility nobody has mentioned. Not sure it would totally block but it sure can make things slow. 

[jdhm]

What and where is the vacuum breaker?

[GeorgiaHybrid]

It is under the sink and under a vacuum it will open to allow air to pass and water to drain and will be above the P trap. They cost about 8 to 15 dollars at any home improvement store

[Kirk W]

4 hours ago, jdhm said:

What and where is the vacuum breaker?

There are several types and you should have one located under each sink in the RV and up near the counter top that it sits on. Here is a picture of what is under out sink.

whi

That is the subject vent to the upper right. They are readily available from Lowe's and Home Depot as well as on Amazon. Those like the one shown here cost less than $10 and usually fail every few years. If they fail closed it causes drain problems, fail open which is more common and it lets sewer odors into the RV. A higher quality one that also costs about double is shown below.

As a quick test to see if this is your problem, just unscrew the vent and take it out of the system and see if that makes the problem go away. If it does not solve the problem this isn't the cause. 

[jdhm]

Vent was replaced. Did not help. 

[jpcoll01]

Snake from under the sink. 

[jdhm]

Before I put new vent on I ran water into sink. It can out the pipe the vent screws into. Could that pipe be clogged?

[jdhm]

Also, rv repair place said it might be the lining of the pvc pipe can loose and is causing the problem. 

[Pat & Pete]

PVC has a lining ???

[Kirk W]

3 hours ago, jdhm said:

Before I put new vent on I ran water into sink. It can out the pipe the vent screws into. Could that pipe be clogged?

That is what it sounds like to me. Like Pete, I question the lining thing. If it were me, I would never go near that guy if I needed service. I have used a lot of PVC piping in various places even installing water hydrants and as part of a volunteer work crew with major plumbing projects. I have never seen any sort of PVC pipe that has a lining. Second, all RV drain plumbing that I have ever seen is not PVC but is really ABS, which is the black pipe that I am sure you found under the sink where that plumbing vent was located. 

Have you removed the "P" trap and taken it out and cleaned it? That is the place that I have found to be the most probably for a plug to occur. 

[Chad Heiser]

The RV repair guy may be referring to a HepvO valve and the "lining" in them.  HepvO valves are used in many RV's in place of traps due to limited space under RV sinks/cabinets.  Here is a document explaining the differences between HepvO installations and typical trap installations in RV's.