Slow drain in bathroom sink (x-post)

15 years ago

Hi all - this is a x-post from the bathroom forum where I've been hanging out the past year as I do my kitchen & bathroom renovations... I'm hoping someone here can help me as the contractor is almost finished with the kitchen, and if the problem might have anything to do with the work he did, I need to know ASAP!

I'm having a weird problem with my new bathroom sink. It didn't start right away, just in the past couple of weeks. The drain gets very slow... If I run very hot water for a few minutes, it'll clear up, but then as soon as I run "normal" water again (warm or cold), it'll get slow again.

I'm very careful not to let hair go down the drain, but I'm sure I miss the occassional hair.

FWIW, it's a Porcher Sapho wall-mount sink with a LaToscana Elba single-handle faucet and drain, and a Kohler bottle trap. And I'm in an apartment building, not a house... It's an old building, circa 1948. All the pipes behind my wall were replaced as part of the bathroom reno.

Is it possible there's something the plumber did wrong in installation, or is it just a normal slow drain problem?

Any recommendations for how I can clear this up???

TIA!

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Comments (7)

frodo_2009
15 years ago
its an old building...the pipes are most likely full of sludge..how far in the wall did the reno go?
depends on how much money you want to spend..
or..does the building have a supertendant/maintain tech
contact them
if its yours..send a camera down there see what is what
you need to call a plumber
charlikin
Original Author
15 years ago
For my reno, they replaced a number of the old pipes with copper, and they had to move the sink pipe over a few inches to accomodate a larger sink; that had to be cast iron. They didn't replace the main pipes that run up and down between floors - just my "off-shoots".

The sink ran fine for the first month or two - it's just the last couple of weeks that it got slow... It will make me CRAZY if we have to open the wall to do anything with this since the work was just done!!!

It is interesting to me that running very hot water seems to clear it up, but then it gets slow again. What would account for that??? Initially I thought it might be some sort of soap clog that the hot water was melting through, but maybe not pushing all the way down... does that make any sense???
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charlikin
Original Author
15 years ago
Update: The plumber was here today installing my kitchen faucet & appliances, so I asked him about the bathroom. Turned out to be a simple hair clog caught on the popup part of the drain. He showed me how to remove the drain so I could check it - my old sink's popup didn't attach so I could always pull it out to check, but I didn't know how to do that with the new one.

All fixed now. Duh. :-)
homebound
15 years ago
That's good news.

For the future, get a Zip-it from the hardware store (no more than $3). Slip it in the drain past the pop-up, pull out and it catches hair along the way.
frodo_2009
15 years ago
homebound
i am always learning new things,,,whats a zip it?
charlikin
Original Author
15 years ago
I wondered that myself, but I found it on Amazon - good reviews, too! Looks like an invaluable find. Thanks, homebound!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cobra Products 400 Zip-It Drain Cleaning Tool
homebound
15 years ago
Twice the price on amazon. Patronize your local hardware store instead.

Slow drain in bathroom sink (x-post)

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Slow drain in bathroom sink (x-post)

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