Septic Tank Safe Drain Unblocking?

Chaos_Monkey

Hi All you lovely people

I hope I've got the right place.....

Basically, we're having a problem with the bath/shower draining VERY slowly, and water from the sink coming back up the bath plughole (quite gross!).

This leads me to believe we've got a problem with/at the connection of the pipes between the sink and the bath.......I don't think it's simply badly designed (but that's probably a contributing factor - the rest of the house has aspects like that!), but I supsect it's due to 'gunk' buildup. :think:

I've tried soda crystals and hot water, which helps nominally. Does anyone have any other suggestions? We're on a septic tank, which complicates things!

Many thanks

CM

iris

Get the drain rods out, or have the septic tank emptied.

My DH checks our septic tank every couple of weeks and rods the drains if he thinks there might be a problem.

zippychick

Hi :beer:

ive moved this to in my home as it's quite a specific question and they're experts over here

there are some OS threads which may help

Unblocking drain blocked with Hair!

Cheap OS remedy for drain smells??

Cleaning sinks/drains etc

Help! My drains stink!

smelly drains

HELP! Drain blocked nothing seems to clear it!

Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Zip

Chaos_Monkey

Thanks, zippychick. I did wonder after I'd posted but didn't know what to do about it!

Chaos_Monkey

Iris - it's not a septic tank problem, or a 'main' drain problem as both of these have been checked. It's just water being stopped from draining from the small pipes, hence why I've used soda crystals.

Does anyone know of any septic tank safe chemicals that will dissolve 'gunk'?

Many thanks

CM

ormus

remove and clean any traps under the sink and bath.
also clean out the waste pipes with a drain wire. whilst you have easy access.

do the waste pipes join the main stink pipe?

Chaos_Monkey

Ormus - I have no idea whether the pipes are connected.....or what 'traps' are!

How can I find out/tell whether the pipes are connected? And what are 'traps'?

Many thanks

CM

ormus

http://www.diydata.com/plumbing/waste_traps/waste_traps.php

a beginners guide to sink etc... waste traps.

Chaos_Monkey

Thanks, I'll take a look at that!