OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

Kitchen Drains

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

Are specially prone to clogs resulting in build-up of grease and fats fats and soap scum that coat the drain line and harden into a coating that boiling water or drain-o won't touch; they have to be power cleaned. Aging cast iron drain lines' rough surfaces are particularly prone to the build up. Option is to keep snaking or replace them with plastic (which will build up as well but is easier to clean).

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

John in NM

Sounds like grease to me. From the description the pipe is in the house where it clogs - ie there are other unaffected drain points before exit.

Its possible that tenant use habits are involved. Grease down the drain is a big no-no. Not like washing a greasy pan, like disposing of grease by dumping it down the drain as opposed to alternative methods (dumping in an old jar and throwing away, etc). Did the problem get worse after changing tenants or have they been there throughout?

Another possibility is that something shifted in supporting the drain and produced a low spot. Or there was a low spot all along and years of water sitting there has made things worse? Yeah, its a snipe hunt if its not grease.

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

Barry Irby

Same tenants the entire time I have owned it. (Nine Years) They say they pout almost nothing through the disposer. I wonder about grease. For the first four or five years, no trouble. Then had to have the drain rootered. Then two years later and then one year and then twice in two months. Each time the Rooter guy claims he has to go further. Now they are talking about running a camera into the drain.

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

Steve D, CT

Blocked venting can also cause issues with slow draining. My BIL had a blockage from squirrels dropping walnuts down a vent.

I had a camera in my drain when I was putting a porch on my house. Once there is a porch, replacing a drain is much more difficult. In my case there were no roots (no trees in front) but the pipes were clay and 80 years old so we did the drain replacement.

The camera was $150 or less if I remember correctly and a good investment. A finished basement will be destroyed if you get a blockage in the main drain to the sewer. Your problem is likely not in the main drain if only one sink is draining slowly.

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

John Veerkamp

Is it a single sink ? Does it discharge thru a disposal. Meat scraps are a bad source of grease build up thru a disposal.

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

Barry Irby

It's a double sink and I have had the drain assembly under the sink replaced a few months ago. I am trying to figure out if there is an easy way to bypass the concealed part of the kitchen sink drain.

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

Mark Nowicki

The inspection by camera will be money well spent.

Hmmm....

John in NM

Having to go further each time is odd. I've had that happen with roots, but clearly that is not the problem here.

A blockage from something like roots gets cleared well enough to drain for a while longer, then next rootering partially clears it and pushes it down further. Last time that happened here I hired a plumber, since power rootering is hard work and dangerous to the fingers unless it has that clutch like thing mounted on it (never seen a rental that does). The guys who came up to clear it did a great job of it, they ran it out to the town sewer and were a bit worried they'd hang up on the joint to the bigger line.

I wonder if there's something similar - some wad of fiberous material (like when my wife tried to put leftover spaghetti squash down the disposer!) that gets clogged over the year with normal grease buildup from normal washing. Rootering dislodges it and pushes further down, and maybe loosens up the grease somewhat?

Lots of speculation in that, camera sounds like a good idea. I had that done once at my mother's house in Tucson, they found a brick in the line. Long story, but suffice it to say, it was worth the $100!

Check this out... *LINK*

John in NM

They are a little hard to find but worth it. There are little steps inside for various size pipes. I usually circuit vent to a single 3" stack, then put one of these on it.


vent cap

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

John McGaw

I have a bit of experience with aged plumbing and I'm wondering if you truly have "cast iron" running up to a kitchen sink. I've never seen it done that way. In the olden days, like the age of your place and mine, there would typically be galvanized steel pipe leading to sinks. The cast iron was normally used strictly for the main trunk and the toilets.

Is the sink that clogs by any chance centered on a window? That is the situation I have in my present home. This means that the vent line (obviously) cannot be run straight up through the window. It also means that the vent is offset and the sink run joins it in a T or Y leading downward. This is an absolutely wonderful place for a persistent clog as I've discovered. The only good way to clean my clog is to have the snake machine on the roof and run it down the vent all the way to the main sewer line. The snake my steady plumber uses has some serious scraper/cutter blades on it and removes everything it comes across. I've had him do this job down through each of the roof vents since, once he and his helper has hauled it to the roof, there is nothing to lose by being thorough.

Now I'm far more careful about what I run down the drain and through the disposal.

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

walta

You may want to power wash the inside of the pipe with a sewer jetter.

It has one jet in front and 4 out the back so it pulls itself down the pipe. My guess is the walls of the pipe are coated in fat and soap. And the snake makes a small hole that quickly fill back in.

https://www.amazon.com/XZT-3000psi-Release-Pressure-Washer/dp/B016Y1LIN6/ref=asc_df_B016Y1LIN6/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242025797701&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16705165652234271010&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022925&hvtargid=pla-444393244242&psc=1

Walta

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

Don Stephan

Can't be suggested too often - have the complete line inspected with a video camera to the septic system or main sewer line. Takes out all the guesswork. The system that was used at our house ten years ago had a foot counter so the operator knew how far into the opening the camera was, and with a magic mystery gadget could read emissions from the camera showing where it was under the basement floor and out in the yard. Having to repeat the drain machine suggests the problem is not being solved. Tree roots do not re-grow that quickly, and anyway some roots would be trapped on the cutter head when it was withdrawn.

Re: OT, Old cast iron pipe clogging question?

Jason Roehl

Couple things.

Someone else mentioned this—I’ve seen it happen to a restaurant that some friends had going. A standard end on a powered snake will often only poke a small hole in a grease clog that then quickly re-clogs. The jet cleaning can overcome this.

Second, the cutter ends on a power snake can work wonders, especially if they’re sized close to the ID of the pipe—they’ll scrape all sorts of stuff off the walls of the pipe.

Also, when I run a snake at work, we have some thick, heavy cowhide gloves that have steel embedded in them for feeding the snake into the pipe. I wear a pair of vinyl gloves underneath. I also try not to think too much about the occasional drip that hits me in the face as I’m pulling the snake out…

Jason