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