Gurgling from bathroom sink

[802595353]

Hi, I need some help and advice. My bathroom sink is slow to clear and once cleared it gurgles for a couple of minutes. It is not the You bend has I have replaced it. In the bathroom I have a shower and bath and both are working perfectly.

On the bathroom sink there are 2 right angled bends in the run of about 3ft before it it reaches the outside pipe. I purchased Mr Muscle Kitchen and Bathroom foam cleaning for blockages, but it if I pour this in, most of it will only stay in the You bend, which is totally clean or do I use more than one application at the same time to get down to the bottom 90 degree bend. It says to flush out with hot water, but I read somewhere boiling water can damage seals.
Can any one in the forum please help

Thanks

 

[blup]

The flowing water creates a partial vacuum that drags the water out of the sink trap. If the problem remains you may have to look at altering the pipe run. Does the waste fit direct into the soil pipe or join the ones from the bath/shower?

You can try one of these first to reach further down the waste pipe:

Wickes Flexible Coil Drain Cleaner - 4.65m | Wickes.co.uk

Wickes Flexible Coil Drain Cleaner - 4.65m

www.wickes.co.uk

Blup

 

[Madrab]

Presume it didn't used to do this? Chances are it'll be a crap and scum build up. Get one of these and use it to blast your system out and see if that helps. Fill the basin up with lots of hot water and don't foget to cover the overflow.

Then flush the waste pipework out regularly with lots of hot water and detergent to keep it clean.

 

[802595353]

Hi Blup, thanks for your reply, the bath has a direct feed to the soil pipe. The shower and sink may be connected but the shower clears perfectly and doesn't gurgle. This could indicate it is the pipe which runs behind the tiled wall to underneath the floor which is also tiled may have a build up

 

[just pumps]

Hi Blup, thanks for your reply, the bath has a direct feed to the soil pipe. The shower and sink may be connected but the shower clears perfectly and doesn't gurgle. This could indicate it is the pipe which runs behind the tiled wall to underneath the floor which is also tiled may have a build up

Or the pipe may now have bowed and now has a dip in it.

 

[blup]

The Americans use mechanical vents, and I've seen some in the UK, the idea being, the vacuum is broken by the intake of air but the sewer gases can't escape.

Blup

 

[Madrab]

Ultimately to stop a system gurgling you use an anti vac trap but if it didn't do it before then it doesn't need one, it's the waste pipe that's sludging up and needs cleared.

 

[blup]

I'm not a plumber but I've cleared bath wastes of sludge, and the increased flow of water has seen more gurgling from the basin, then after a few weeks everything settles down.

Blup

 

[802595353]

Madrab, thanks for your suggestions. I was able to find the plunger pump you had indicated, would it clear sludge or partial blockages in the pipe.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Madrab, thanks for your suggestions. I was able to find the plunger pump you had indicated, would it clear sludge or partial blockages in the pipe.

Well if you have found it, try it, it only takes a second. It will either work or not work. If it doesn't work you may need to disassemble the pipe to clear it. One of my kitchen sink drains was blocked this morning, with the rinsed out remnants of mashed potatoes, from the masher. It took just a second to try to clear it with a plunger.

 

[Madrab]

Madrab, thanks for your suggestions. I was able to find the plunger pump you had indicated, would it clear sludge or partial blockages in the pipe.

Yes, there's a knack to it. Fill the basin with as hot water as possible with some detergent and let that flush down the pipe a few times to soften things up. Put the plunger in the basin over the waste and fill to the overflow. With someone covering the overflow with a wet cloth, lift the plunger off the waste for a sec to let some water run down into the pipe then pump the plunger hard up and down a few times and repeat, you should feel the water resistance in the plunger. That puts a slug of water into the pipe and allows it to be drawn back and forward loosening the gunge. You will soon know if it's working as the water will run faster.

If the trap gurgled before then an Anti Vac trap could be fitted to stop that. The gurgling is the water seal in the trap being pulled by the vacuum created at the back of the waste water as it fills the pipe and drains.

With a properly designed and self cleaning waste run then there should be adequate capacity on the pipe and positive venting to minimise any vacuum created in the pipe and any that is, will be released by the vortex created by the smoth runnning flow of water.