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ECones's avatar
ECones
Explorer
Aug 09, 2014

Kitchen sink -- very slow drain

Our kitchen sink drains very slowly. It eventually drains, but it can take hours before we can see no water in the drain. After days of non-use I can fill the sink half full, and that will drain mostly. I think it's filling the pipe before backing up in the sink. That makes me think that whatever the problem is, it's way down the pipe.

I've run a long wire down the rooftop vent, and I was able to feed 9+ feet of wire down the vent. The wire came back wet. I don't think the vent is plugged.

I've tried a plunger with no success. But if the obstruction is past the vent, a plunger wouldn't work.

I'm stumped. Is there a drain cleaner that's safe for these things?

thx

17 Replies

  • Pop-Pop C wrote:
    I use baking soda and white vinegar.
    About a half cup baking soda poured in and on top of the drain.
    Pour about 2 cups of vinegar down the drain slowly washing the vineager down.
    Let set for a few minutes and flush with water . Repeat if necessary.
    Done this for years in the S.& B and in the RV.


    BINGO We have a winner..............one of the best, safest, and cheapest solutions to the problem. Been using it for years Used it every drain in the house and RV, cleans up hair, grease, soap scum,everything...
  • Old-Biscuit wrote:
    Remove 'P' trap under sink..clean it out


    This would be my recommendation. It's that goose neck shaped pipe under the sink. Pull it off and check if it is plugged up. They are designed to be taken off. However, It sometimes is a bit difficult to get to in you camper, but I bet you will find in full of something.
  • I use baking soda and white vinegar.
    About a half cup baking soda poured in and on top of the drain.
    Pour about 2 cups of vinegar down the drain slowly washing the vineager down.
    Let set for a few minutes and flush with water . Repeat if necessary.
    Done this for years in the S.& B and in the RV.
  • Just curious? Do you wash dishes in your sink? More important, do you wash your pots and pans and skillets in the sink? Even more important, if those pots and pans have grease on them, do you let that grease go down the drain? If so, your pipes could be clogged due to grease.

    Don't know about you, but we use our sink mostly for just water and wash dishes outside. But between trips, there's no water going down the drain. This allows food particles (and especially grease) to dry, get hard, and stick to the sides and bottom of the pipes.

    I suggest you go to Lowe's or Home Depot or your local Hardware store and get a drain emzine eater. It's usually in a powder form, you mix with warm water and pour down your drains. This is the same type of stuff used on cruise ships, high rise apartments, and in your home.

    If the clog or slow drain is due to any bio-degradable object, the emzine eaters will dissolve whatever the problem is (organic objects). It will not eat up plastic or metal, or non-organic items). It will dissolve hair.

    And No! This will not hurt your pipes. If it would, then every pipe in my house would be destroyed, as everything is PVC. Your camper is also PVC.

    This is what we use. We've purchased it through our plumber, but Lowes,etc also sells other brands (a lot cheaper) that do the same thing. Click here.

    It's important to keep the drain wet. So once you make up a cup of the solution, pour it down your drain and let it sit for the specified time (12 hours), then run water down the drain. In order for the emzines to continue working, they have to be kept wet. Unlike your home where you use water all the time, you'll need to keep putting a little bit of water down your sink often for a few days. Once ,the emzines have eaten everything, the pipes are clean and the emzine die because there's nothing left to feed on. Also, they will get in your gray water tank and clean it up too! So you've got nothing to loose.

    Try it. See if that works!

    Edit! We never put grease or food particles down our trailer sink drain. When we do have to wash inside, we wipe the greasy dishes with paper towel first and toss the paper out. This greatly reduces the amount of grease going down the drain, and for that small amount, normal dishwashing soap will keep it broken down and flushed out. We do the same thing at home, especially since we are on a septic tank. We use the Bio-Clean once a month, one cap full for 1 glass of warm water, 1 for every drain in the house. We've never had a clog. I started using it in the camper too now, especially since our camper is still less than 1 year old. I figure, it won't hurt to start prevention! Worst case scenario! Those emzines float into the gray tank. It's always a little wet!
  • I would put some bleach in it and let it set overnight

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