McGee
New Member
So, I poured some 100% pure lye beads into my drain to clear it. What happened was, when it didn't work I took off my p-trap and connections under my double kitchen sink. In one of the elbows leading to the p-trap there was a huge chunk of solidified lye. The beads melded together. I took that piece outside and poured boiling water into it and it dissolved the lye. While it was off, I ran a snake through the pipes. It got all the way through, but nothing. Okay, so I put the contraptions back together, lye chunk being dissolved. Only, my drain is now slower than before I used the lye. I'm thinking there's another chunk of lye in there, deeper into the pipes. The snake was 25' and it didn't touch anything solid that I can tell (unless it went up the vent pipe instead) and 25' should have reached to my septic tank. I had this issue before with my tub drain where the snake got nothing. Turns out it was because it was soap scum built up into a jelly and the snake just passed through it with nothing to grab on to. By the way, my shower drain and bathroom sink drains are draining fine. At any rate, whether it's another lye chunk or just buildup or something else, I am afraid to put another chemical down there with the possibility of there being a huge chunk of lye because it may react. Boiling water doesn't work, even a whole stock pot of it. Also, my pipes are PVC. I know I shouldn't pour boiling water with pvc but I was desperate. Any chems I can put in that won't react with the lye? Any other suggestions? Thanks.
