HELP!! Any Plumbers in the house? Clogged Disposal/Sink....

[jus_the_facts]

....already tried to plunge it out and that didn't work...about to use Drain-O on it now and hope I don't have to take the pipes apart to drain it as I think it's clogged with grease and a coffee filter....SIGH! :argh:

Any suggestions would be appreciated...Thanks in advance! x(

[catmandu57]

1. Best I can tell you

is to use the cleaner, let it sit for about an hour then dump copious quantities of boing water down the drain.

[jus_the_facts]

5. Thank You.....

....I've poured it in...waitin' to see if it works! :hi:

[mtowngman]

2. Does the diposal work at all?

[jus_the_facts]

8. Yes it does.....

:shrug:

[Midlodemocrat]

3. Try boiling water in lieu of the Dran-O.

I have had success with that. Then you might need to manually turn the disposal to get it working again. You should have an Allen type wrench or something similar to give it a push. You might then need to push the reset button on the bottom of the unit.

[joneschick]

4. is the disposal working? can you hand crank it?

that's all I got. then on to the Drano followed by boiling water, then call the plumber and put up with their shit for using the Drano. :shrug:

[kwassa]

6. The clog might be in the trap behind the disposal

which you can take off yourself if you have a large enough wrench. I use channel locks.

put a pan underneath to catch the water and crud.

Disposals are no fun. I've replaced two.

[achtung_circus]

7. Some of them

have a reversding switch on the body of the disposer in order that they can regurgitate stuff that gets stuck.

Get the maker and model number off the garburator and Google for a usuer's manual.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. There should be a really big allen type wrench that goes in the bottom

and you can 'unfreeze' the blades. Also a reset switch on the bottom or side of the disposal. If the blades won't turn, then your sink will back up.

[ScreamingMeemie]

10. I always have this happen. It is usually a clog in the elbow under the

disposal. We have a snake and I end up having to use that. Also, a very wise older Home Depot man once lectured me to never put potato peels, carrot shavings or coffee filters down the drain. Of course, I've tried to sneak them in...and I get clogged every time.

:hi:

[radwriter0555]

13. Coffee filters down the drain? Are you kidding? I would never have dreamed

of putting a coffee FILTER down the drain and wouldn't even put coffee grounds down the drain!

A whole freaking filter? It's paper.... down a little 2 inch pipe IF you're lucky.

Perhaps this is why in all my apartments and houses I've never had a clogged sink?

*scratches head*

I've never heard of such a thing... Who'd a thunk?

Now I don't feel bad about my long hair in the shower.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

14. My dad always said that coffee grounds were good for the pipes.

I don't know if it's true or not. :shrug: But he always put them down the drain...But we wouldn't have dreamed of putting filters down the drain. It's paper. It belongs in the trash!
Duckie

[yellowcanine]

11. Garbage, including coffe grounds, should be composted. Sorry, that

doesn't help you now but that is my recommendation, particularly if you are on a septic system. If you don't want to compost them, you are better off putting them in the trash. I only use the disposer to clean up the scraps in the bottom of the sink which are too time consuming to pick up and put into the compost. Grease in particular should never go down the drain.

[jus_the_facts]

20. I live in an apartment and have an extremely small area in the back...

....that doesn't allow for a compost pile....I'd not recommend anyone with a septic tank to even have a sink disposal.

[yellowcanine]

22. I would put most of the garbage in the trash then. Or get a worm

composter. They can be set up in a very small area and are not at all objectionable. You can even do it on an apartment balcony.

[jus_the_facts]

12. Thanks everyone for all your suggestions....

....it cleared with Drain-O and hot water....and yes that will teach me to NEVER again put any grease down the sink....I knew better when I did it though and D'OH HELLO!! *smacks own head* :D

:hi:

[dropkickpa]

15. Grease BAD!!!

My brother the apprentice plumber yells at my mom because she sometimes dumps grease down her sink, and he invariably ends up having to take the big giant power snake thing (I'm down with all the technical term, oh yeah) to it. Always interesting because, for some odd reason, the sink ties into the gutter drainage (really old house) so half the time he ends up having to go outside and snake one of the cast-iron drains from the downspout to get the clog out.

Get a grease jar. Use it. All I do is save the jars from tomato sauce (rinsed out of course) and dump any grease I have in there. When I drain ground beef, I place the strainer in a bowl and pour from there to the jar. When it is full (or smells bad) just toss it. This also keeps the neighboprhood critters from tearing apart the trash to get to the yummy grease.

[radwriter0555]

16. Wow, I just realized I don't have grease anymore. I haven't cooked with

grease in a couple years since I started eating a lot healthier.

I used to fill a milk carton with grease from cooking every couple of weeks... Now it just doesn't exist.

Interesting.

[radwriter0555]

17. Actually if you're absolutely desperate and MUST do it and have no other

choice, the way to do it is to run it down the drain with the coldest water possible so that it clumps up and slithers through the drain in solid bits. If you put it down the drain with hot water it will indeed coat the pipes.

[jus_the_facts]

18. Thanks...I usually don't do it...was just in a hurry and hoped I'd....

...get away with it this once..it wasn't even all that much either..just a little in the bottom of a pan I'd broiled some lean meat in...I usually do pour it in something first and throw it away. :hi:

[catmandu57]

23. That's what an apartment maitenance man told me years ago

To run cold water when I have something greasy to get rid of and have to dump it in the drain, my wife freaks and peaks, she insists on hot water, which is another reason I do the cooking and dishes. Now, if I could get her to wash her hair somewhere else our drain wouldn't need opened every other month.

[Broken_Hero]

19. Drani-o sucks

You need to go to Lowe's, home depot and get some industrial grade stuff. In my experience, Drain-o never unclogged any of my clogs! :) I would also recommend a snake, but its a messy business. If the higher grade unclogging agents don't work, get a snake, and get busy...if that don't work, than...damn, I guess plumber time.

[jus_the_facts]

21. It worked on this clog.....believe it or not....

....thanks though! :D

:hi: