At my wits end!

[PlumbGate]

I have a long-time issue with my kitchen sink. Double sink with both drains going into one trap and one drain for both disposal and sink.

It is a slow drain. It has totally clogged before requiring a snake to clear. If disposal side is run too long it fills with water which shoots into the other drain if the disposal is turned on. Both sides eventually drain. Water also backs up into dishwasher line creating stagnant water. Drain is and always has been slow. I brought a plumber out yesterday that thinks this is a venting issue and not a clog. But he does not do venting nor does he know anyone that does. The kitchen sink and a small bar sink (below it on the same side of the house) are slow. The bar sink is slow until it gets going then it seems ok. A bathroom directly above the kitchen sink all drains work as normal. My attic has several vents all tied into one (see pic). These are not all of the vents in the attic.

In the video, I put the sink plug in, filled it, then removed the plug. This access hole is a vent that I installed which does nothing to help the issue. You can see that air comes out of the hole when the sink is draining. You can hear the gurgling when it is done. If I don't put the plastic on it, water pours out of this hole.

Does anyone know what this problem actually is and how to fix it?

 

[breplum]

A plumber that "does not do venting" ? that is patently absurd.
All plumbing is required to be vented. You can use an air admittance valve (AAV) as a substitute that is not necessarily to code, but will provide venting. All kitchen sinks are required to have a cleanout for servicing (per code).

 

[PlumbGate]

A plumber that "does not do venting" ? that is patently absurd.
All plumbing is required to be vented. You can use an air admittance valve (AAV) as a substitute that is not necessarily to code, but will provide venting. All kitchen sinks are required to have a cleanout for servicing (per code).

Thanks for the response! Almost NONE of the plumbers I called will do any vent work. I found 1 but he charges $300/hour to fix this and even will charge me $300 for the estimate. I put the AAV under the sink (where that cleanout is with the plastic wrap in the video) and it did not do anything at all. If I added an AAV under the sink which did not help at all, does that mean this is not a venting issue?

 

[Geofd]

Have you tried to snake it,that's the 1st thing I would do, has it always not worked properly or is this something that happens once and a while?????

 

[MicEd69]

Like breplum said, plumbers install vents and drains by definition. And in looking at the picture that you describe as "not all of the vents in the attic", you have a mess. vent lines MUST be a minimum of 1 1/4" pipe. All vent lines must also be sloped towards the drain lines a minimum of 1/4" per foot, vents cannot have "pockets" where fluid can accumulate.

You need to provide a better picture of your sink plumbing fittings and how they are arranged. And a layout of the drains and where the vents are attached.

 

[GReynolds929]

Vents let air into the system, If air comes out while draining you have an obstruction down the line and the drain needs cleared.

 

[PlumbGate]

Like breplum said, plumbers install vents and drains by definition. And in looking at the picture that you describe as "not all of the vents in the attic", you have a mess. vent lines MUST be a minimum of 1 1/4" pipe. All vent lines must also be sloped towards the drain lines a minimum of 1/4" per foot, vents cannot have "pockets" where fluid can accumulate.

You need to provide a better picture of your sink plumbing fittings and how they are arranged. And a layout of the drains and where the vents are attached.

The vent in that picture is the one with 4 pipes connected. The other line is for the A/C unit. They are all to code.

With you guys' help, I do believe this is just a clog downstream perhaps of the previous clog or perhaps they didn't get it all last time. Plumber will be here in an hour to snake this drain again. I am hopeful I am just looking at a really bad clog. My wife dumps everything she possibly can down the drain including grease. Talking to her about it is as effective as talking to a wall. If needed, I'll have the drain scoped to see any issues.

 

[Ludington]

Like breplum said, plumbers install vents and drains by definition. And in looking at the picture that you describe as "not all of the vents in the attic", you have a mess. vent lines MUST be a minimum of 1 1/4" pipe. All vent lines must also be sloped towards the drain lines a minimum of 1/4" per foot, vents cannot have "pockets" where fluid can accumulate.

You need to provide a better picture of your sink plumbing fittings and how they are arranged. And a layout of the drains and where the vents are attached.

I learned that the hard way, 40 years ago when I built my house, I ran 3 inch pvc from the front side of the house to the back so you wouldn't see the pipe sticking up from the road. No slope. Just laid across the roof trusses. Never had any failures, but algea grew inside and there was a wierd smell. Had to get in the attic and hack the one end up so I had some slope, plus put mushroom caps on the outlets. No more problems. Must not have been code 40 years ago. Not in SC. Of course back then, not much was.

 

[PlumbGate]

The plumber just left and the drain is CLEAR! First time ever since owning this house that the drain runs normally!

He ran 50 feet of oscillating line with a cleaner head on it. That seemed to help, but not great. Really it just drained well to a certain point then slowed down and backed up again. But he had packed up and was going to call it ok. But then we talked and I asked him to run it with more line. He got everything out again and added another 14 feet of line which was all that he had with him (damaged line but still usable). This time when he was done we filled the sink totally and it drained quickly with no bubbling and no going over to the other sink bowl. I gave him a $100 tip. Well worth it!