I have a clogged sink & bathtub drain. I tried a plunger/ liquid plumber.Any ideas before calling a plumber?

Question

When running water from the sink it ends up filling up the bath tub. I guess both are connected. The toilet works fine as does every other drain in my home

Answer 1

The folks talking about the snakes, (wire cable inserted into the drain lines and twisted, usually best with a power source other than your arm), are on to the solution, but they don't go quite far enough. If your toilet drain and others in the house work OK, then the problem is not in the main line, it's most likely in an elbow joint that connects the tub and the sink you're talking about. You'll need to get down into the basement and figure out where those two join up, then look for a clean out plug into which you can put the snake. If you can find that you should be able to dislodge the debris and then flush it out of the line. I usually use a power snake, available at most rental stores for approx. $20 for a half day. It's the steel cable attached to a 3/8" drill motor that will turn the cable once you've pushed it into the line. Much easier than trying to do it by hand. The rental store should be able to give you any instruction you may need in it's operation. It can be quite messy, so have towels and rinse water on hand.

Answer 2

You need to run a cable in your drain. They can be rented at many places. It is labor intensive but plumbers charge hundreds of dollars to do it. You will need to find a cleanout somewhere to access the sewer. It is not a trap that is clogged but is in your main. You know that because both sink and tubs are clogged. A good guess is that you have roots in your line.

Answer 3

There is a plumbers tool which is a high pressured plunger. It is black, red and yellow and works on the principle of having a small compressed cartridge that when pushed down over drain pushes the pressured air hard through the piping. The plunger is shaped like a cross. Look to find one and good luck.

Answer 4

There's one other thing you can try. Plunging doesn't do any good at all if you don't plug the overflows in the sink and the tub. Stuff washcloths in the overlfow opeings and close the drain in the receptacle you are not plunging and then be VIOLENT in the plunging. Then call the plumber.

Answer 5

You can purchase what they call a plumbers snake at hardware stores that you stick into the drain and run it as far as possible and these sometimes get rid of the problem.

Answer 6

Get a "snake". They work well. It's a flexible wrapped metal cable you put it down the drain, crank it and pull out the muck. Any hardware store will have them, and they don't cost much either.