Bowgus wrote:
Sulphuric acid ... yikes. First, check that you don't have a mess of hair
stuck in the strainer affair in the bottom of the sink.

No strainer in the bottom of the sink (I wish it were that simple!).
I've removed the stopper assembly--the kind that has a plunger tapped
into the discharge pipe that moves it up and down--and I've poked around
the trap with a knitting needle to see if anything is in it. There
isn't... drain is completely open all the way to the bottom of the trap.
Since I haven't been willing to break the joints to remove the trap yet,
I dunno how far past there the blockage is.

If
that's not the problem, try what's called a plunger :-) to clear the
p-trap. You have to hold a wet cloth over the overflow drain...

My bathroom basins don't have one...something that originally led me to
wonder if lack of venting might be the problem. But I've been able to
rule that out.

If that does not work, and there's
no "cleanout" (that plug that unscrews from the bottom of the trap) in the
p trap, then you might as well replace the trap with one that has one.

There isn't one. I was flabbergasted to find that there's no access into
the trap to get anything out of it. In the days when I wore hard
contact lenses, I dropped so many of 'em down the drain I got to be an
expert at getting 'em back!


I'm
sure you're familiar with abs and its installation. I'd just cut the old
drain at a convenient spot, and install a new trap.

Oh yeah...and I will. It's just a PITA job that'll probly end requiring
me to replace a piece I hadn't planned to replace 'cuz I'll probl'ly
crack it getting the parts I wanted to replace off.

Calling a plumber may not be such a bad idea after all...'cuz I'm
starting to remind myself of an old joke:

Repair prices:

If you call us first: $25
If you watch us work: $50
If you try to help: $75
If you tried to fix it yourself before calling us: $150

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://www.seaworthy.com/store/custo...0&cat=6&page=1
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detai...=400&group=327

I'm
sure you're familiar with abs and its installation. I'd just cut the old
drain at a convenient spot, and install a new trap.

Oh yeah...and I will. It's just a PITA job that'll probly end requiring
me to replace a piece I hadn't planned to replace 'cuz I'll probl'ly
crack it getting the parts I wanted to replace off.

I just replaced a p trap in the old side of the house upstairs bathroom a
few months ago ... I cut the old drain (vertical section near the floor) and
installed the p trap ... compression fit to the basin tailpiece, length of
abs
from the trap to the connector, and connector to the old abs drain. Took
less than an hour ... I'm the type that (usually) measures 4 times, cuts
once, assembles and checks the fit 1 once, and installs once ... and the
cost was maybe $5 or so ... but since I'm in the refurbish mode with my
current house (geez ... will I ever "settle down"), I had a few parts in the
"plumbing box", so all I needed to go get was the trap.

Peggie wrote:
originally led me to
wonder if lack of venting might be the problem. But I've been able to
rule that out.

My most baffling drain problem ever was finally resolved by climbing
onto the roof and running a snake down the vent. Seems some
inconsiderate critter had chosen that location to build a nest.
(I thought I'd ruled it out too).

PhantMan

Thanks for all the advice, guys! However, there are times when it's
smarter to retreat from the field of battle and call in a pro before I
create an even worse problem--like maybe ending up with BOTH master bath
sinks clogged?--by stumbling around with wrenches, snakes and shop vacs
(if only more boat owners would do that!)...and I've decided this is one
of those times. I'm gonna bite the bullet and call a plumber.

At least he won't have to charge extra to fix anything I messed up by
trying to do it myself...hopefully he won't charge extra to let me watch.

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://www.seaworthy.com/store/custo...0&cat=6&page=1
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detai...=400&group=327