Plumbers Face Unexpected Debris in Pipes
66 posts across 5 communities in the last 30 days; 92% from r/Plumbing.
“My upstairs bathtub went from draining very slowly to not draining at all, after I snaked out a hairball, and two different cables can't get past the same spot. I'd appreciate a second opinion on where the clog is and what to try next. The house and plumbing 1940 house (NYC…”
“No it wouldn't add a substantial load to the plumbing. All small drain tubing like the photo shows can clog. The more serious issue is that the condensate has dissolved flue gases in it, so it is acidic. This could be an issue with what looks like cast iron going into the floor…”
“That's a common problem us plumbers face on a regular basis. It can be tricky trying to fix this. Just got to play with the positioning of the weight that's on the hose under the sink”
Several plumbers encountered unusual and unsanitary obstructions within pipes during installations or repairs, requiring immediate attention and posing hygiene concerns.
SOURCES (60)
“Lol, I'm getting rightfully roasted for lack of terminology. Guess my thought was it's not a pipe if it's plastic? However, I am aware of PVC pipe, so.. no SMRT 🤷 [re: Do I need to call a plumber?]”
“I'm reading online that you need to have a system to collect your wastewater; otherwise, you can be fined. Has anyone had any info or experience with this? For someone who wants to start doing this. submitted by /u/marbldeath [link] [comments]”
“Accidentally spotted this while starting to do some weeding. Knocked the pipe with my hand, it detached from the big waste pipe and I noticed it was clogged. With gloves and I butter knife I unclogged it and about 500ml of grey sludge leaked onto the floor. No nasty smell. I'm fairly certain the insulated pipe is the boiler condensate pipe. submitted by /u/ks2996 [link] [comments]”
“The pipe has been cleaned out. The question is, do you check to make sure the line is patent? Or just assume that it is? [re: Best practices sewer]”
“Hi, Currently under contract and during inspection this is the scope video. Owner had root intrusion about 9 years ago. Thoughts on next steps based on the videos? Main Sewer Pipe From The Cleanouts to the City Connection. Around the 1:55 mark is maybe the root intrusion? To sewer Main Sewer Pipe Under the House/Building under house submitted by /u/bots_r_us_ [link] [comments]”
“For anyone interested, the plumbers snaked about 100 feet out and couldn’t find the source of the blockage. City crew will be here tomorrow to investigate further and hopefully get everything flowing [re: Downstairs Shower Overflowing When Heavy Usage From Upstairs]”
“That's a good point! I have to check. I was too busy trying to take a good picture with all the stuff in the way.”
“Yeah I was thinking getting structural engineer and plumber to look at both and ask for an inspection date extension or credits to repair both at an estimate that makes sense, but wouldn’t pass on both”
“Roots in a cast iron line is the one I'd actually lose sleep over, get a camera scope done before your contingency ends, it's a couple hundred bucks and it tells you if it's one spot repair or the whole run coming out. The $990 against $1.1K market is fine upside. For the beam fanning I'd pay a structural engineer to look at it, a home inspector is not the guy who can tell you if that's cosmetic or the house moving.”
“that fuzzy stuff is probably fatberg residue mixed with tp and whatever else got hung up on the roots. seen it a bunch when the line starts backing up slow it's not just the roots though, that offset at 59ft is gonna keep catching debris every time. might be worth getting a liner quote before it gets worse, those roots are only gonna spread more”
“I have an old house with threaded waste pipes and regular tees, nothing directional anywhere. 9 times out of 10, snaking the laundry drain sends the snake up the stack, but the tenth time, it’ll go the right direction. I use a 1/4” snake with a small kink intentionally put in the last 1-2 inches, so it can make it through the tight bends and importantly, not get snagged on the pipe ends in the fittings, which it often did before the kink.”
“My upstairs bathtub went from draining very slowly to not draining at all, after I snaked out a hairball, and two different cables can't get past the same spot. I'd appreciate a second opinion on where the clog is and what to try next. The house and plumbing 1940 house (NYC rowhouse), with another bathroom directly below this one. The main stack is about 20" horizontally from the tub drain. In this photo, it’s just to the right of the grab handle, I believe. It's visible from wi”
“Coming from a disused water tank and are already severed so can I assume its safe to remove them without doing anything to our water supply? submitted by /u/Ellzbelz [link] [comments]”
“My condo corporation has hired a plumber to install a cleanout under our kitchen sink tomorrow. But I'm looking right now and I'm wondering if we already have a cleanout...? I took a photo under my kitchen sink. Can anyone tell me what the red arrow is pointing to? Thanks! submitted by /u/InterestingCommon [link] [comments]”
“Jesus. They added the laundry trap? What a catastrophe. Get a real plumber to undo that mess. Send the bill to the HVAC installers.”
“No it wouldn't add a substantial load to the plumbing. All small drain tubing like the photo shows can clog. The more serious issue is that the condensate has dissolved flue gases in it, so it is acidic. This could be an issue with what looks like cast iron going into the floor. They often have acid neutralizing traps added before draining, which is basically a replaceable bag of limestone in a larger pipe.”
“Thats what I was thinking. I have a plumber coming tomorrow but I really wanted to figure out the smell before he comes.”
“Thanks, I've got American Standard 3" inch flapper great flush, never knowing what gets flushed. You can try to tell someone not to flush those products, but...”
“Yes, I saved everyone a video of a cleared pipe. No roots or obstructions farther down.”
“Hey so dropped a butter knife in the toilet and the toilet is clogged now what’s the best way to fix this an auger or do I just neeed a plumber? submitted by /u/Key_Money_645 [link] [comments]”
“If you bury plastic water pipe in earth loaded with sharp rocks you are asking for trouble.”
“Thank you! I poured some after the draino, so I'll just do the water a few more times and hope for the best.”
“What septic safe cleaner would get this off? submitted by /u/Silent_Pea_26 [link] [comments]”
“Normally it's smooth buzzing noise but now has a loud harsh slower buzzing noise. Nothing appeared to be in the drain submitted by /u/hacktogether [link] [comments]”
“You might be able to just put on long gloves and reach in. Gross? Yes. Worth saving a plumber bill for an easy fix? Yes.”
“That's a common problem us plumbers face on a regular basis. It can be tricky trying to fix this. Just got to play with the positioning of the weight that's on the hose under the sink”
“If it's sloped towards the main it's fine. With old cast iron pipe,if it was sloped too much,solids wouldn't get carried away correctly and the inside surfaces of the pipe would facilitate buildup. PVC is slick as fuck and it isn't that much of a problem.”
“I think a check valve would also be wise, just in case of any back ups in the septic system. I’ve had a customer who’s boiler got filled with sewage from a clog in the main house trap and it wasn’t a fun time.”
“Hi all, just looking to see if I’m on the right wave length with our sewage situation. We started to have our basement toilet and tub filling up and eventually overflowed. We called in an emergency drain company to come in and assess. They put a camera down our house cleanout and found a blockage (didn’t visibly see it due to there being water in the pipe?). They traced it to the property line. We have since called the city. The city came out and found the blockage (tree roots), cleared it as be”
“The best way to clear it would be a jetter, but it would blow that apart. Line it or dig and replace. I’m not even sure it would take a liner at this point.”
“Plumbers absolutely hate it when you don't disclose that you poured chemicals down the drain”
“What do you mean, main line? Sorry I’m very ignorant about this. https://preview.redd.it/mclx6l4xi4sh1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f91afce844b32006ae67382c0b3e97b91c3e279b Someone posted this picture above and I think I can manage to do that. Is main line where the T is in the piping?”
“The toilet flushes fine I’m just worried it might cause a future problem. submitted by /u/fjahabsbnfnxmsnw [link] [comments]”
There's a lot of reasons plumbers have a state license. This is one of those reasons. Call someone who knows wtf they are doing and get this fixed fast.
“They both work Running water makes it easier to push the cable down the drain, just dry running the cable lets him do a visual of bellies in the line or standing water”
“Who in their right mind puts a clean-out in a location like that? If that is new construction, I'd be real curious as to what other questionable choices were made during the build. Probably fully functional but.... come on!”
“For me servicing generally involves replacement of piping. I dont often do drain cleans any more. Replacement of a lined pipe is virtually impossible. Lining doesnt fix bellies. Lining doesnt stop root intrusion. Spot repairs on a lined pipe cant be done without catastrophic damage to the liner and voiding any type sealing it had.”
“Why is it impossible? A properly lined and reinstated pipe is no more challenging to clean or service than any other pipe. In fact, it's often easier.”
“Not to be annoying but that's not actually the shut-off, that just makes it so that you don't give yourself third degree burns, by turning the hot water on all the way, and not turning the cold water on too..”
“So im going to assume electric. Im also going to assume you arent doing preventative maintenance and having it flushed (1st step) what’s happening is you have internal buildup from not flushing, the system is sensing flow causing the circuit to close (click). Its doing it in rapid succession.”
“True ... especially if the thing is not a 'person', or 'was' a person. Better sleep with lights on for a week, just in case. The bottom of that stopper has a screw thread. So if it is screwed on properly, and both sides are good, then we who we gonna call.”
“So ive been getting blockages in my sewer main about twice a year for 4 years now. And of course it always happens at the most inopportune times. NYE backed up into my house, This past weekend before family was coming over sewage spitting out of my cleanout. I have the sewer line insurance through the water company, but every time i file a claim, they just send someone out to clear the line, but wont send a camera down it to see the real issue! This past Saturday i realized it was backing up bec”
“Can confirm. Tried it once and found out quick how “not Hercules” I am. Pipe had rusted through tho so I ended up having to pull the metal shards out with the needle nose anyways”
“There's no world in which you don't want to find and fix the source of the problem rather than just removing the moss.”
“Good to know.. We are currently working with this hand crank (and the snake I couldn't tell you the brand). Just trying my best with what I got at the moment and hoping we don't have to resort to chemicals again because I know those tend to make the issue worse or even dangerous to solve if they don't work. https://preview.redd.it/widbnaqlmgrh1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=81f8dd8f5254544d5664592bce00c1155f932e27”