My vessel sink drains sloooow and sometimes smells but there's no clog?!?! How can I fix this?

Question

I have snaked all vents from the roof, poured vinegar and baking soda and enzyme cleaner down my drains to no avail and cleaned out the p traps and lines. Even when there is no water in the p trap, because I JUST cleaned it out and put it back on.. so when I turn on the water, it builds up immediately in the sink..and mind you, there is no water that is stopping it up from the immediate lines. Is this an air issue? Do I need a different drain..I have the one the sink came with. Please help..plumbers dont have an answer :(

Answer 1

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The only other thing I can think of is that the p-trap is too low in relation to the main drain line it's attached to, but I'm no plumber, just familiar with gravity. Since it's a vessel sink, I'm guessing that the drain is a bit higher than with a drop in or traditional type sink, so the pipe from the drain to the p-trap is a few inches longer. That means that more water has to fill that up before it exits the p-trap into the main drain line and slows it down, almost like a bottleneck or how it takes longer for you to start driving at a light that just turned green from 10 cars back as it does when you're the first one at the light. Raising the p-trap 5 inches or so may fix the problem. I'd of course ask a plumber about it before you did it; like I said I'm more familiar with gravity than I am with plumbing.

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Asker's Comment:

I think that is a very good point. Was wondering about that. I will try it!! Thanx!!

Answer 2

You got all the DWV (drain waste vent ) lines done. is there anything between the sink drain and trap? Maybe it's something soft that the snake only pushes thru then comes back. It could be the major drain that leads to the sewer, i've seen them plugged and I've seen pipes corroded w/ rust so nothing pases. Maybe if you have a septic tank, but I do not know how that goes.
It's so easy to replace the drain, why don't you upgrade to a nice stainless or copper one while you're at it.

Answer 3

The fact that all of your drain lines are clear and you get an occasional odor indicates to me that your vents are probably insufficient.

If there's a trap on the sink (stops sewer gas from coming out as long as there's water in it) and you still get sewer gas odor, the trap is being "sucked" out by something else, like a toilet flushing. I've only heard of this happening when venting was an issue. The same thing would cause your sink to drain slowly.

You can install a mobile home style air gap, it would probably take care of the problem but be an eye sore. My first suggestion is that you be darned sure that your plumbing is venting properly.

Answer 4

get a sani flo system fitted