Slow Drain

[Bogie]

Kitchen drain. Has been chronically slow. I suspect it is also sort of convoluted. And has gone from slow to "government employee."
 
Before I go to the store and buy something metallic to get medieval on it... Are there any suggestions? It is NOT the initial trap that is the problem. I put about a gallon of "sinking" lye solution down it yesterday, and it is still just sitting there, mocking me.

[cordex]

My in-laws were having a problem with their sink too.  We tried all the "good" drain cleaners without result.

I ended up taking off the trap and feeding a drain auger straight into the drain pipe.  Given the age of their pipes I was sure to take it slow and easy.  With the 30 foot auger, I ended up hitting the clog at about 29 feet - could not have possibly gone with a shorter auger and had success.  The drain has worked beautifully since then.

[Ben]

While it's usually best to just suck it up and take Cordex's advice to snake the whole thing and be done with it, I have on occasion found that the clog is just past the trap. So if you have something short that's handy to get a foot or so past the trap connector, you might give that a try before you rent or buy a snake.

[Bogie]

The "wet" stuff in this little house is all clustered together... I'm just dreading getting under the sink. Tub drains fine, bathroom sink drains fine, toilet flushes like a toilet flushes... They wouldn't have run a separate pipe all the way to the laundry alcove on the other side of the house, right? Which would mean that it is buried in concrete slab.

[Bogie]

I'm a gonna go plunge it some more.

[K Frame]

My guess is if it's a kitchen drain it's a build up of fat, soap, and food particles as opposed to hair and the like. Those kinds of clogs seem to be more resistant to a lot of the acid/base drain cleaners, so snaking is probably preferred to get everything running.

After that, you may also want to try one of the enzymatic drain cleaners. I've used Zep Drain Defense in my kitchen drain and it seems to do a good job.

In your case, one of the foaming cleaners may be a more logical first step.

I had an issue with my kitchen sink intermittently clogging and draining slowly some years ago. I managed to get it unclogged with liquid pumber, and a friend suggested the enzymatic cleaner, especially since I have an regularly use my garbage disposal. Haven't had a lick of trouble since.

[Bogie]

This is what I've used so far... It is VERY slowly draining... I've got about an inch in the sink, going to wait some more.

[Kingcreek]

You are probably going to end up snaking it if plunging and liquid drain cleaners haven’t worked by now.

[Bogie]

Been alternating clearing ivy outside, and plunging, and it seems like it is moving a little. Gonna get it drained, and then try some of that gobbler stuff.

[HankB]

Have you tried HOT water?

Or one of the many expanding drain cleaning bladders they sell at Amazon, Home Despot, etc.?

[Tuco]

Your sausage post in the other thread is a solid clue. The following is cheap and can be very effective on deep grease clogs. 

Fill your rangetop with your largest pots, all full of water. Bring to a boil. 
Put on your welding gloves and dump the very hot water down the drain as quickly as the drain will take it.

The priority is volume.  And temp... The keys are volume  and temperature. And a crit...
The keys are volume, temperature and a fanatical aversion to plumbers. 

Heat up the entire sewer lateral and melt away the grease all the way to the street.

[Bogie]

Sausage, bacon, hamburger, etc., grease goes into a pot that has a quantity of oatmeal and cheap seeds stirred into it. The birds seem to really like it.

[Bogie]

And... Drain was somewhat draining... Bought a gallon of green gobbler enzymatic whatever, dumped enough in to where the drain wouldn't hold any more. Went back a little later, topped it off. It is now taking more to top it off... Gonna let it percolate overnight, and then go to maintenance dose.
 
But for now, I'm gonna watch Zombeavers on Amazon Prime. It seems to be Really Bad. But then again, I liked Toxic Avenger...

[K Frame]

Well?

Is it draining?

Or has your entire house dissolved?

[Bogie]

It is draining. Not perfectly, but I'm gonna put some of this crap in daily for a little bit, see if that improves it. I'm not going to tear all the crap out, but I'm guessing that there's a convoluted run of 3-4 feet between the trap and the main line.