Kitchen sink has indigestion

twopenny

Any ideas welcome.

Sink - empty the washing up bowl and the mass of  water goes down fine, just as it should.
No problem with the washing machine emptying to it.

But smaller amounts of water, say a saucepan, and it goes down, rises just above the plug hole then gurgles, then belches  three or four times from I think below the u bend..  
Think acid reflux but in sound.
It empties, just noisy and it's driving me nuts.

The outside drain, the pipe seems to go through some sort of shield so I can't see below.


I've used a plunger.
Vinegar and soda.
Flash, washing up liquid followed by boiling water.
 They all worked for an hour or two especially the last.
I keep the sink clean as far as the ubend.
Don't eat much fatty food, 

subjecttocontract

I would use a bottle of sink/ drain cleaner. I got one out of Tesco last time.....about £3 or£4. Pour it down the sink, leave it over night, flush with clean water in the morning and it should move any blockage. Worked for me.

twopenny

I've bought one but reluctant because in hot or cold weather frogs hang out down underground but it's warming up to a sultry 3c now.
£1 - £1.50 here, so many of them and someone I know was buying some too, different brand so we're going to compare results.

subjecttocontract

Well you either want to save the frogs or clean your waste pipe......so it's your choice. Good luck.

danrv

Sounds like the U bend needs disconnecting and flushing through. 

WIAWSNB

Strange one, 2'penny.
When did this start, was it sudden, and was it perfectly fine before this?
I guess a partial blockage in the U is the most likely explanation, tho' it's weird.
Any chance of a straight-on pic of the waste plumbing under your sink, to see if, perhaps the outlet is a tad high?
I guess that a larger quantity of water gets past the U and into the outlet pipe, causing a syphon effect, 'pulling' the rest of the water behind it, whereas a smaller quantity just trickles away past - over - what I'm guessing is a raised blockage. But, still weird.
What's the temp like - anything freezing outside?
A pic of what happens to the waste pipe after it exits the house would be good too, please.

silvercar

You’ve already showered these poor frogs in boiling water, vinegar, soda….if they’ve survived that then they are probably immune to a bit of drain unblocker!

KxMx

I find Dr Magic the best, it's also the cheapest and outperforms Mr Muscle in my opinion. 

twopenny

I knew you'd want photos Wias, but I wasn't going to empty the cupboard last night 🙂 though it's pretty straightforward. Wl do that later. outside I can't really see even with a torch. 

My first thought was it was blocked with leaves as this started late autumn but far as I can tell it's got some protection over it. Got worse with the long cold spell. Especially cld night. Only one frost though.

Silvercar, indeed. I did wonder if a frog had got into the pipe on cold nights. Then wondered if it had died there 😕
Last place I had to rescue a frog that got itself stuck under the grating, twice.

Kxmx, that was the one I chose of the 7 or so in the shop.

It's been going on since before Christmas.

ButterCheese

I've had several plumbers advise not to use chemicals as they can damage the rubber seals on the pipes, but it's up to you.  If there is a blockage, find it and clear it manually if you can.  Sounds like you have quite a fatty, elastic blocakge so a high volume of water has enough weight to push/bend the glob and get through, but a dribble does not.  it's creating a small vacuum which is what the noise is.

I'd first go under the sink and take off the u bend, if it's tight you might need some water pump pliers which are fairly cheap.  If it seems to be further down the pipe then you'll have to get some other sort of snake tool, or call someone in to have a look.  

plumb1_2

Question, is the overflow pipe venting?