# No wonder it wouldn't drain.



## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

Here's a pic from a job back in July. Customer called with a clogged lavatory in a small bathroom with only one toilet and one sink. It's on the second floor of a six story building with no other fixtures above this bathroom.

So, I get the k 45 and go at it right down the lav drain, through the trap, expecting about a five minute job, but the cable binds up at about three feet and won't budge. So I try again and again with no success. So, I pull the trap and go at it with the Gorlitz 380/250 running 3/8 cable with drop head into a 1.5" galvanized drain and I can hear the cable going up the wall. I try and try again, with no success, so I open the wall and find a 4"x2" CI san tee in the wall, so I remove the galvanized drain and put my finger into the tap and fell something hard and crunchy. So, I tried again with the cable, but couldn't make it move. 

Now comes the soil pipe cutters and I block the cast iron up with hangers and 2x4 and remove the pipe and lo and behold, it's full of scale.



So, now comes the shop vac to suck up this scale and I get about three or four gallons of this flake out of the drain, then I can see the wet stuff, so I go again with the cable and it clears in about two seconds, I run water down the drain and then camera to make sure it's all clear... The "wet" part of this blockage was in the branch of the wye, just before it connected with the toilet.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Wow. So the 4" vertical was full of the rust flakes? 

One time I was trying to clear a drain line that was in a medical office. There was an x-ray film machine of some kind near the sink that was clogged. I remember some bottles of x-ray developer fluid nearby. I read the label and one ingredient was 'silver'. I don't know anything about x-ray machines. That particular stoppage was a bear. It was so bad, I was going down to the office below, popping up ceiling tiles and looking at the drain lines trying to decide where to cut. Finally I busted through from upstairs but I had to put some a$$ behind my cabling. I guess the x-ray developing process uses silver? I don't know. I think, (this was a while back) there was some type of interceptor in this office to catch the silver, I can't remember for sure. 

I know what you mean, you go into some calls thinking you'll be on your way in about an hour, and instead, you're battling the drain line.....


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

ChrisConnor said:


> ...Now comes the soil pipe cutters and I block the cast iron up with hangers and 2x4 and remove the pipe and lo and behold, it's full of scale....


:blink:   :wacko: :wallbash:

(we need some more "holy crap!" type icons)


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## DUNBAR PLUMBING (Sep 11, 2008)

I know what that smells like, been there a million times over. 


*$$$$*


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

Full down about five feet. They said it had been "slow to drain" for a long time, but finally got to the point where it took all day long to drain out.


Speaking of X ray labs, have you ever had a sink drain that was plugged with Barium? That crap is like chalk or clay once it solidifies in the drain line. Nasty stuff.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Barium? Sounds radioactive...:nuke:


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

Tommy plumber said:


> Barium? Sounds radioactive...:nuke:


They have you swallow it before you get X-rayed. It's opaque and blocks the x ray or something.

The first time I encountered it I thought it was mud.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

So the sink drain had a partial clog than had 4 stories worth of rust scale fall down the stack and land on top of it....

Not all that uncommon but right up there in the degree of difficulty for snaking...


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

Redwood said:


> So the sink drain had a partial clog than had 4 stories worth of rust scale fall down the stack and land on top of it....



Well....yeah.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

Yup and just because you get a CI drain working on an upper floor one might want to check the lower drains as well because of scale knocked loose with the cable and stopping up drains in lower floor.


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

mpsllc said:


> Yup and just because you get a CI drain working on an upper floor one might want to check the lower drains as well because of scale knocked loose with the cable and stopping up drains in lower floor.


Indeed, on this particular one, it was video inspected down to the first floor exterior sewer clean out after it was rodded.


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