Suds lock? in kitchen sink drain plumbing
Our fiver, like most, has a separate gray tank for the kitchen sink. The vent going up to the roof is 8 or 9 feet away from the sink.
The P trap is a couple of feet to the right of the left hand bowl, and a foot or so from the right hand bowl. So it is in a lateral instead of just underneath. We use the LH bowl for dish water. The air inlet check valve is 30 inches after the P trap.
Sometimes trying to drain the dish water, if there is a good amount of suds, it just won't drain. I can unscrew and remove the check valve, and it drains right down. (Remember, the check valve is not to let air out, only to let air in. But removing it will create a new vent opening under the counter. So this is not a sign of a bad valve.)
If I leave the valve in place and just wait, usually at some point there will be a big glug sound, and then it all drains.
At first I thought I must have a problem in the vent to the roof. Now I'm thinking it is just the suds somehow getting trapped and having enough resistance that the water sitting on top of them won't go through.
Has anyone encountered the same thing?
The P trap is a couple of feet to the right of the left hand bowl, and a foot or so from the right hand bowl. So it is in a lateral instead of just underneath. We use the LH bowl for dish water. The air inlet check valve is 30 inches after the P trap.
Sometimes trying to drain the dish water, if there is a good amount of suds, it just won't drain. I can unscrew and remove the check valve, and it drains right down. (Remember, the check valve is not to let air out, only to let air in. But removing it will create a new vent opening under the counter. So this is not a sign of a bad valve.)
If I leave the valve in place and just wait, usually at some point there will be a big glug sound, and then it all drains.
At first I thought I must have a problem in the vent to the roof. Now I'm thinking it is just the suds somehow getting trapped and having enough resistance that the water sitting on top of them won't go through.
Has anyone encountered the same thing?
